Brooklyn Blacksheep
by Kanra-Kami
Summary: Kiku is forced to leave his collapsing country and sent to stay in America with an obnoxious boy named Alfred. But will this bitter meeting turn into an unbreakable friendship? Or something more? USxJapan
1. Chapter 1

A boy sat alone in a first class seat with a scowl on his face. He looked to be about twelve years old, with short, jet black hair and deep brown eyes. Other boys his age would be playing a hand-held game system to occupy their flight, but Kiku had with him a slim laptop, a book titled "The Rapid Evolution of Nanotechnology," and a newspaper that he was now bringing up to read. His throat went dry and his scowl grew more intense as the headline of the front page screamed at him "Crisis in Japan: Escalating Danger and Mayhem." He was now glaring a burning hole into the picture accompanied with the header. It depicted a wide shot of a town -or at least once was- now in rubble. Kiku furiously turned the page to rid himself of the site. "Radiation Levels Increasing in Sendai." Kiku tore the newspaper with a loud _rip_, getting up from his seat abruptly.

"Honda-san, is there anything I can do for y-" a flight attendant began, but was cut of as the young boy pushed past her.

Kiku burst into the tight compartment, a poor excuse for a bathroom. He stood over the metallic sink, beginning to sweat, his hand clamped over his mouth as he glared into the bowl.

"Ngh!" There it came. Burning bile worked its way up Kiku's throat, into the sink, clouding the shiny sink with something far less pleasant. "Dammit...!" Kiku muttered under his breath. He smashed a fist into the rectangular box to his right that held the paper towels. The boy gave a grunt as his knuckles scuffed up against a protruding bolt, tearing his flesh.

He was in the tiny restroom for another ten minutes before he came out again, considerably more composed that when he had gone in, neglecting the gash across his knuckles save for a legth of toilet paper wrapped around his hand.

"Honda-san?" It was the same voice from a few minutes before. "Can...I get you something to drink? Perhaps some water? You're looking a bit...peaky."

Kiku narrowed his eyes at the woman in irritation. "Tea. Black." he waved her away as he returned to his seat. He gave a low sigh as he sank into 12D, leaning his forehead against the small window as he looked out at the fluffy whiteness. At least the seats weren't cramped in together like they were in the Economy section.

"Honda-san?" came the voice for the third time. "Your tea, sir."

Kiku's eyes shifted to his left to glance at the attendant as if she were an unwelcome fly. He took the drink without a word and set it in the cup holder beside him and laid his forehead against the cool glass of the window again.

Honda Kiku was a twelve year old boy who came from a wealthy family in Japan. He didn't talk much and didn't like to be around others, well besides his dog, Todoshiro, but even the small dog was out of his reach now. Kiku had been attending an elite private academy whose annual tuition was more than the salary of some people. He had acquaintances at the academy, but they were for networking purposes only. If there was one thing his father urged it was to make connections for when he would head the family business. Being the son of a wealthy businessman and an aristocratic mother made Kiku something of a spoiled boy. There was one boy who visited him somewhat regularly, the son of one of his father's business partners from South Korea. The boy would always copy him and ask him to do his homework and when Kiku gave in the boy took all the credit for the work himself. Besides that he was an extremely energetic young boy who never seemed to take things seriously. In other words, he annoyed the hell out of Kiku. But he was the closest thing Kiku had to a friend.

But now everything was going to be different. He was going to a new country, a place with new people, new food, new customs, new languages, new everything. He hated his father for sending him away; or at least he wished he could convince himself of that. He had already felt the quake, he had already seen the tsunami, and his father would not allow him to risk experiencing the radiation that was spewing from the nuclear power plant that was not fifteen miles from their home. So Kiku's mother and father enrolled him in a foreign exchange program after pulling some strings and put him on a plane to America. Just what he needed... Not only was it bad enough that he had to leave the comfort of his home, but he had to go to the loudest, rudest, most obnoxious country there was. Fantastic...

"Attention passengers, we will be landing in Brooklyn, New York in ten minutes, please be seated with your seat belts fastened." came a smooth voice over the intercom, waking Kiku from his doze. He lazily packed his things into his carry on and watched the window with heavily lidded eyes. He watched the bustling, smoggy city below grow closer and closer. He saw the giant green woman in the middle of the ocean. Damn, he really was here... As they touched down with a jolt onto the runway Kiku gave a sigh. Nope, it definitely wasn't a bad dream. He had to accept that fact that he left everything familiar thousands of miles away across an ocean. One thing was for sure though. This would never be his home.

_Never_. He repeated the word in his mind as he walked through the long passage and through the terminal. He walked into the large hall full of conveyor belts and walked to the one that his bags would be on. There were four in total. He waited a good ten minutes before luggage even started showing up through the flaps in the wall. There was the small black one. Another few minutes. There was the maroon one, and soon after the bigger black one. Another five minutes passed and still he did not see the last of his bags. But before he could even think about going to the missing luggage office a great force pounced on him from behind.

"Ah-!" Kiku gasped in surprise, almost losing his balance. Whoever it was had their arms draped over his shoulders from behind, so he lunged forward to loosen the grasp and turned quickly to shove the assaulter. He found himself fiercely glaring into a pair of gleaming blue eyes and his face loosened as his heart pounded. Such dazzling eyes... Kiku gave his head a quick, single shake and went right back to glaring at the person.

"'Sup, bro?"

"I _beg_ your pardon?" Kiku shot. "Who the hell are you and what are you trying to do by attacking me like that?" he demanded, dusting himself off as if the mere physical contact had dirtied him.

"Dude, chill, I's just givin' ya the normal patriotic greeting," he smiled brightly. "Uh, you _are_ Kiku, right?"

Kiku's face slackened a bit and he blinked a few times. "Wait, don't tell me.."

"I'm here to pick you up, dude!" the boy slapped Kiku on the back in a friendly gesture and he pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. "So, you're just here to help me carry my bags...right?" Kiku said the last word as if it were a plead.

"Nah, man, I'm Alfred Jones, part of yer host family!"

"..." Kiku was speechless. _This_ obnoxious brat would be living under the same roof as him?

"Oh hey!" Alfred rushed forward to the conveyor belt. "This one's yours, isn't it?" he lugged a huge black suitcase from the moving panels.

Kiku blinked. "Er, yes, how did you know?"

"Uh, duh," Alfred pointed at the tag on the handle. "Your name is right here.

"You...read kanji...?" Kiku asked slowly in surprise.

"Er, well, no, but I was practicing so I would know how to spell your name," Alfred pulled the luggage back to them. Kiku was taken aback. Not only was the boy able to lift that gigantic bag, he took the time to learn how to write Kiku's name... "Well, don't just gawk! C'mon, let's head to my place!"

"What about your parents?" Kiku inquired.

"Oh, they're at work, didn't I mention, we'll be taking the bus home."

Kiku's eyes went wide. A bus? In this city? It was final, this boy was completely off his rocket.


	2. Chapter 2

If Kiku's mood was foul before, it had increased by at least tenfold at this point. He had been mailed off all the way to this strange place, and he was expected to take the grimy public transportation system to get to his new 'home'? No chauffeur, not even a cab, no, some dumb kid with a naive grin and a bus pass. Honestly, were all Americans this rude to their guests? They really did not have the courtesy to-

"Hey, Kiku, did you hear me?" The onyx haired boy was wrenched from his fuming when Alfred waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention. "We gotta hurry up or we'll miss the bus. Here, I'll take those two for ya." Alfred reached down and grabbed the handle of the largest suitcase which had a pair of wheels at the bottom and the second largest he grabbed by the sturdy handle. Kiku was surprised the American could handle so much weight so easily, but he merely rolled his eyes and yelled 'showoff' loudly inside his head.

Kiku hoisted one of the last two remaining bags over his shoulder and took the smallest in his opposite grip. He muttered a halfhearted "thanks" as he followed behind the blonde boy.

The two boys headed down a few escalators and through several pairs of doors and were finally outside. They walked in silence for a few minutes more before Alfred stopped.

"Well here we are. The bus should be here in-" Alfred let go of the handle of the large suitcase and pulled a slim cellphone from his pocket, "-ten minutes." Alfred gestured for Kiku to take a seat at one of the benches.

Kiku glanced at the benches; there were several other people seated at the stop as well, some seemed quite normal, and some seemed very unsettling. To name a few, there was a young man covered in piercings and tattoos with neon colored hair, a twitchy man who was mumbling to himself, and a woman smoking a cigarette and wearing clothes far too revealing than should be aloud. "I'll stand." Kiku said firmly, not even putting his luggage down.

"Ya sure? Alright then, suit yerself," Alfred blinked at his foreign companion. He took a seat on the bench near the lad covered in piercings and gave him grin and a casual "yo."

Kiku stood stiff as a statue, glancing over his shoulder at Alfred's openness with a brow raised. After a few moments of staring Kiku turned back and craned his neck as he looked up at the sky. At least the sky was the same as the one in Japan, except maybe a bit murkier. He gave a small sigh.

Alfred watched the onyx haired boy staring up, so he stared up as well. It was a little cloudy, but the sun shown brightly regardless. A jet slowly passed overhead, leaving a long white streak in its wake. Alfred's ears pricked up as he heard the familiar purr of the bus grow close. He pulled himself up off the bench along with Kiku's luggage, silently smiling a goodbye at the young man he had been sitting next to and walked up next to Kiku.

"It's almost here, don't worry about fare, Dad made sure to buy an extra buss pass for ya," Alfred said cheerily, reaching into his pocket again, this time retrieving his wallet, flicking it open with his free hand and slid a card out with his thumb, presenting it to Kiku.

Kiku eyed the card. It was blue and red with the words 'Omnitrans Month Pass: June.' The boy frowned. "Does this mean I will be taking the bus often?"

"A'course!" Alfred yipped as a bus slowed to a stop in front of them with a heavy hiss. "This is New York after all!" He didn't say it in a condescending way, but rather sounded quite proud. "Well, I prefer taking a bike myself, traffic sucks, big time."

Kiku took the card with hesitation, hating this day more and more as each minute passed. The doors of the large vehicle opened and Alfred stepped on, the huge suitcase trailing behind him. He stood there for a moment in front of the driver and then stepped towards the seats. Kiku hurried after, his bags bumping into the doors as he struggled on. He was about to walk past the driver to where Alfred was standing when he heard a loud "ahem" from the large, dark skinned woman behind the wheel who was pointing at the fare sign.

Kiku's face grew hot as he realized he'd forgot about his card. "Oh, er-" he held the card for her to see.

"You gotta swipe it," the woman said impatiently.

"Swipe...?" Kiku's face was growing hotter by the second.

Alfred quickly got up as the people behind began making irritated sounds. "Er, sorry, my friend isn't from around here," he said, plucking the card from Kiku's hand and sliding it through a slot on the fare box. The woman only glared at Alfred, and he responded with an awkward laugh as he retreated into the seating area, Kiku following close behind.

As they sat down at the back the bus began to fill with a menagerie of unique looking individuals. Kiku's face now had the complexion of a tomato as he sat in rigid silence, his hands clenched in his lap.

"Don't sweat it man, you'll get used to it," Alfred smiled, but Kiku only sent him a cold glare.

"How long until we arrive at your home?" the Japanese boy asked, unenthused.

"Er, well let's see..." Alfred said, his eyes glancing at the ceiling as he thought about it. "We've got two more transfers to make after this one, so we're looking at around...an hour."

Kiku said nothing, a scowl growing across his delicate features.

Sixty-eight minutes and thirty-nine seconds later Alfred and Kiku exited their third bus onto Indiana St. Kiku continued following Alfred's lead for the next few blocks. He was extremely tired, his clothes stuck to his skin from the perspiration, and his feet and back were beginning to ache. They rounded a corner onto Liberty Avenue and after a couple more minutes Alfred spoke up.

"There it is!" Alfred chirped, nodding ahead of them. Kiku blinked and took in the sight of the building. Any person with an average income would have deemed it a fine place to live, but Kiku sneered. A large building that rose maybe a dozen stories high; it didn't look like anything special, and didn't have any qualities that made it stand out from any of the surrounding buildings. Kiku followed the blonde up a few steps and through a sleek lobby into an a plain area with a bench, a painting on the wall, a large trash can, and four elevators, two on each side of the hall. Alfred pressed the 'up' button with his elbow, seeing as both his hands were full. Only a few seconds passed before a chime alerted the arrival of one of the lifts. The doors slid smoothly open and the boys stepped inside. Alfred pressed another button with his elbow, but Kiku couldn't see which one it was. The doors closed and Kiku stepped back, leaning against the elevator wall, the fatigue setting in quite harshly. He closed his eyes and counted the beeps as they ascended. _Beep_. _Beep_. _Beep_. How high were they going? _Beep_. _Beep_. _Beep_. Would the apartment be comfortable? _Beep_. _Beep_. Probably not. _Beep_. Well at least things couldn't get much worse. _Beep_. Kiku felt the lift slow and come to a stop. He opened his eyes as the metallic doors parted for the two of them.

"We're in number 1776," Alfred informed as he stepped out of the small space. The information seemed to pass over Kiku's head. His eyelids seemed heavy and his legs felt gelatinous. He blankly followed Alfred down the hall until they stopped in front of one of the doors. Alfred tugged a lanyard hanging from his pocket which head several keys attached at the end and unlocked the door, casually walking inside. Kiku hesitated for a moment, though he didn't know why, and then finally stepped over the threshold.

The Japanese boy glanced around him, taking in the colorful abode. There were a lot of hues that reminded him of autumn, golds and yellows and reds. It was small. At least it was to him, his home in Japan was large and extravagant, the kind of home you would expect from a family who's annual income was in the triple digits.

"This is it?" Kiku asked snidely, frowning at the place. The difference between this Brooklyn apartment and his Japanese borderline mansion was like night and day. Kiku's home was all sleek, modern black and white, this place was full of distracting, vivid colors and mismatchedness.

"Yup, welcome to _mi casa_," Alfred replied proudly, mistaking Kiku's tone for an admiring one. "C'mon, I'll show you around!" Alfred gestured with a nod at the rest of the apartment.

Another ten or so minutes was spent as Alfred led the way around the place talking about each room, while Kiku followed while hardly saying a word, and hardly listening for that matter.

"I saved our room for last," Alfred beamed proudly while they stood facing each other in the hall.

"We're...sharing the same bedroom...?" Kiku asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, it's a nice sized room, too," Alfred gloated. "C'mon, I'll show ya!" Alfred reached out and grabbed the boy by the hand, the same one Kiku had cut back in the airplane bathroom.

Kiku quickly retracted his hand, holding it defensively close to his chest, the makeshift bandage falling to the floor. "D-don't touch me!" he growled at the surprised blonde.

Alfred blinked at the other, confused. "S-something wrong?" he asked, confused.

"Of course something is wrong, you idiot!" Kiku snapped, a vicious glare erupting on his face. "What? You think I'm _glad_ to be here? You think everything is just fun and carefree and nothing is wrong? This is the worst possible thing that could have happened! I'm stuck in this godforsaken country in this rotting hovel with a god damned lowlife American family! _Everything_ is fucking wrong!"

A genuinely hurt expression formed on Alfred's face. He was quite taken aback. His gaze was hidden by the blonde locks that fell over his eyes, his hands hanging lifelessly at his sides.

"I see..." he said in a near inaudible voice. He didn't say anything for a few moments, but when he spoke up again, it was in the same low voice, only much more cold. "So that's how it is. I know this isn't exactly a picnic for you, Kiku, I'm aware it can't be easy." Alfred stepped forward, his tone growing more angry as he spoke, advancing towards Kiku, making the boy back through the door behind him. "But that doesn't give you the right to act like you're the only person on the planet that's going through a difficult time. And you acting like a spoiled little brat isn't going to change anything." Alfred had backed Kiku completely into the room behind, which turned out to be a small bathroom. "Now sit down." Alfred glared at Kiku, pointing at the edge of the bathtub.

Kiku was taken aback at this harsh lecturing from the boy, and without even realizing it he had taken a seat as he was told. Alfred looked away and opened the cabinet beneath the sink and was rummaging for something. After a moment the blonde turned back with a a white bottle of unknown substance, several cotton balls, and a roll of gauze bandage. Kiku blinked, looking at the items in confusion.

"Hand," Alfred ordered lightly, nodding at Kiku's injured hand. Kiku began to slowly bring forward his hand, staring at Alfred with uncertainty. The American boy poured some of whatever was in the white bottle onto the cotton ball and sat down on the toilet, facing Kiku, their knees bumping together. Alfred gently took the brown eyed boy's hand and dabbed the cotton ball to it.

"_Itai_!" Kiku flinched, pulling his hand back an inch or so.

"Just deal with it," Alfred said blankly, taking Kiku's hand in his, continuing to dab it with the cotton. After another minute or so he set the cotton down on the marble counter nextt to the sink and raised Kiku's hand close to his mouth, blowing lightly on the now damp area around the cut. Kiku watched in silence. His skin felt very cold as Alfred blew on it, the cut still stinging from whatever the boy had dabbed on it. Alfred released his hand and reached for the spool of gauze, unraveling a few inches and tearing the a section off with his teeth. He took Kiku's hand again and began wrapping the length of bandage tightly around it and pinned it in place.

Alfred stood, and without a word, he left the bathroom, disappearing without a glance back. Kiku sat there for a several minutes. He finally stood and left the bathroom as well, and walked down the hallway until he came to the only room that Alfred hadn't shown him. The plain white door had a small wooden chalkboard hanging on it which read 'Alfred & Kiku's Room.' Kiku let out a sigh as he opened the door and walked in. He didn't glance anywhere except for the beds. One was covered in a deep blue comforter, the other in a bold red, with a note sitting on it. Kiku walked over to it and picked up the note. It read 'Dear Kiku, I'm super glad to have you visiting the USA and can't wait to meet'cha! This half of the room belongs to you now, so make sure to make it totally awesome. -Your new roomie, Alfred F. Jones.'

Kiku sat on the edge of the bed staring at the note. He leaned sideways until his head connected with the pillow and raised his feet up onto the bed as well. He didn't bother undressing or even taking his shoes off. Within a few seconds his eyes were closed and he was dragged into a deep sleep.

~x~

_Uwah! Japan is being a total dick, I know ;0; But things will get better, I promise! You know what they say, being a dick at first will make the heart grow stronger! What? That's not how the saying goes? Whatever! Long live Japan x US!_

_See you next chapter ;D_


	3. Chapter 3

Kiku's eyes peeled open, fighting the will to stay closed. The sun was bright through the parted curtains and it only made his head hurt worse. The Japanese boy slowly sat up and sat for a moment as the events of the previous day slowly crawled back into his head. He gave a small moan and looked down to realize that he was fully clothed in the attire from the day before, even his shoes were left on. Kiku heard a rhythmic sound to his right and glanced over only to remember that he now shared the same room as American boy, Alfred F. Jones. The blonde was lightly snoring, wildly wrapped in his twisted sky blue sheets, the comforter kicked off to the end of the bed, partially hanging off onto the floor. Kiku's bedding was more or less the way it was when he had gone to bed the evening before since he had merely laid on top of them and fallen asleep immediately.

Kiku leaned forward and began pulling off the smooth, shiny dress shoes that clung to his feet, flinching at the pain in his right hand. He recalled that Alfred had cleaned and bandaged it for him the day before. The Japanese boy glared at his patched up hand and then returned to taking off his shoes, more aggressively than before, and dropping them next to his bed with a loud thunk.

Alfred stirred from the opposite side of the room with a rustle of sheets and a groan. He reached a long arm to the head of his bed, pulling a battery powered alarm clock to his face. "Uggh, why am I awake this early?" he groaned, sitting up, the sheets falling from his body to reveal a well toned torso. Kiku's eyes wandered over the lean boy's flesh, a light blush dusting his cheeks. Alfred heavily pulled himself up with a yawn, standing beside the blue-covered bed, stretching his arms high above his head to reveal a pair of deep blue boxers with white stars all over, but that was the only article of clothing on him.

"H-how indecent!' Kiku stuttered after looking away, his blush growing more prominent. "To sleep in near nudity, especially when sharing a room with others, clothe yourself at once!" he demanded with a shaky voice.

"Eh...?" Alfred inquired groggily. "Oh, right, Kiku..." he said the name with an obvious lack of enthusiasm.

"Did you not hear me? Clothe yourself for god's sake!" Kiku demanded again, slightly more forcefully this time.

"Dude, what's the big deal?" Alfred retorted. "It's summer, and it's freaking hot. I'm surprised you don't do the same."

Kiku's cheeks only continued to brighten. "I would never do such a thing! It would be inappropriate to present myself to another man in such a way!"

"Uh, what are you talking about dude?" Alfred stared at the strange foreign boy. "Besides, we share this room now, we're bound to change in front of each other eventually."

Kiku could not come up with a retort. Instead he walked over to his luggage that had been set against the wall with angry, heavy footsteps and began to unpack.

"The closet's mine, but the dresser and shelves over there are yours," Alfred grumbled, gesturing at the large white armoire. Kiku said nothing to the insufferable American and simply kept busying himself with his suitcase.

Alfred quickly got dressed in a Superman T-shirt and a pair of loose cargo pants and left the room. After Alfred was out of sight Kiku quickly took off his clothes in order to put on a fresh pair of khaki pants and a crisp white dress shirt, only to realize that he hadn't showered since leaving Japan. He descended the stairs in search of Alfred in order to ask where the towels were kept and found the boy in the kitchen, sitting on the marble counter-top with his feet dangling, looking at his cellphone.

"Er," Kiku said with reluctance, "where do you keep your bath towels?" He scratched his neck awkwardly.

"Bath?" Alfred asked, looking up from his phone. "No time, I just got a text from my mom asking me to run some errands."

Kiku furrowed his brow. "What does that have to do with me taking a shower?" he inquired snidely.

"Well I'm gonna take you with. I have to get some things from the grocery store on the way back and I need you to help carry them. Plus you could use some getting used to this city."

Kiku opened his mouth to protest, but the argument slipped off his tongue. He had no idea how to get around such a place. In Japan there was always someone who drove him around, he'd never even been on a public bus until the day before. "Fine." he glared, and after a moment asked "Where are your parents anyway?"

"Well mom and dad both own a business, and they have to travel a lot, they're often away on business trips and stuff. They're away like 75% of the time."

Kiku's parents were also away for a lot of the time, so the concept wasn't vary strange to him. Besides, Alfred's parents not being around meant less people to interact with, which Kiku greatly preferred.

"Well, go get your shoes on so we can go. I have to drop off a package at the post office before they close, so we gotta get a move on. And don't forget to bring your bus pass!" He called as Kiku retreated upstairs to collect his shoes.

After a few more minutes the boys were out the door and walking along the streets of New York. Alfred was walking with a proud strut, a small black backpack slung over his shoulder, Kiku slumping along behind him. The boy's stomach gave a loud protest and reminded him that he hadn't eaten since he was on the plane.

"So...how long is this going to take exactly?" Kiku asked with a pointed brow.

"Hmm..." Alfred seemed to mull it over in his head. "I dunno!"

Kiku glared at the blonde from behind. They walked to the end of the street and around the corner to the bus stop they had gotten off of the day before. Kiku followed Alfred's lead and sat at the tattered metal bench. He looked down at the peeling green coat of paint of the seat beneath him which revealed a muddy looking metallic sheen beneath. He looked to his left and jumped at what he saw. unconsciously pressing up against Alfred.

"T-that man!" he exclaimed in an urgent whisper.

"Eh?" Alfred raised a brow down at the short boy who was nearly clinging to him. "Oh, you mean the bum? You'll see a lot of that here, it's pretty normal."

"Sssh! What if he hears you?"

"Nah, he's out like a light."

"You just have unkempt people lying around sidewalks all over?"

"Yeah, dude, times are tough, ya know?"

"That is so unsanita-" before Kiku could finish his remark, Alfred had grabbed his hand and yanked him up.

"C'mon, bus is here! Gotcher pass?"

"I, uh, y-yes," Kiku replied, flustered.

Alfred hopped onto the bus, pulling Kiku behind him, quickly swiping his pass in the fare slot, and waited for Kiku to do the same, then tugged him again to the back of the bus.

"Do you mind?" Kiku protested, pulling his hand away before either of them sat down.

"Mind what?" Alfred asked obliviously, turning towards the boy.

"I don't like being touched, let alone being dragged around by my hand like a rag doll." Kiku snapped.

"Well I-" Whatever Alfred was going to say was shot back into his throat as the bus jerkily pulled away from the stop, causing Alfred to fall back into the seat behind him, Kiku falling into Alfred, his delicate face smacking into the American's chest.

Alfred opened his mouth to say something, but his words were shunned yet again when Kiku stuttered "I-!" more loudly than necessary, still pressed up against the blonde. Realizing that he was mashed so harshly against Alfred, Kiku shot a flush-cheeked glare at him as if it were the blonde's fault and pushed away, sitting down several seats away with a loud, exasperated gasp that was almost a growl. Alfred chuckled quietly to himself, and the rest of the bus ride was silent until they exited near the post office.

It wasn't very busy in the post office, there was only one other person in the line, a man with light brown hair and a mustache. After Alfred's small package was weighed and priced he paid for it with a shiny amber debit card. After that the boys walked a few blocks in pursuit of the library. After explaining that he had a few comic books to return, Alfred pointed out many different little shops on their way, talked about good places in the area to eat and some of the main streets and the like. Kiku said nothing, but was listening intently. After walking for fifteen minutes or so they came to a welcoming set of steps leading in to a set of double doors. Large lettering was set into the brickwork above the entrance that read _3__rd__ Street Library_.

They walked in, and Kiku followed Alfred to the book drop-off counter. His eyes wandered around the place, and it was just a typical library. Kiku's brown eyes fell upon a red sign that said 'Register Now!' in curvy gold letters, and he was almost tempted to get into the line for obtaining library cards, but decided against it. He didn't want to conform to this country more than what was the bare necessity. Kiku looked back to the drop off counter and noticed that Alfred was no longer there. The Japanese boy walked in the direction of the comic books rack and saw the blonde stooped over a shelf of slim issues of Batman. Kiku rolled his eyes and turned to see what other books there were, but his eye was caught by a familiar image. Across from the shelves of Marvels and DCs was one full of manga. He was surprised how many of the Japanese graphic novels were displayed. His eyes danced across the various volumes of cover art, many of which were familiar to him.

"If you get a card you can check out all the manga with hot girls in 'em," came a joking voice from behind.

Kiku blinked and blushed, a frown on his face as he turned. "I would never do such an indecent thing!" he retorted.

"Heheh, just a joke," Alfred held up his hands in mock surrender, one of which was clasping two issues of Batman and one of Spiderman. "Well then, shall we?" he gestured toward the check out counter.

"Fine," Kiku mumbled irritably.

"So, I was thinking we'd stop for lunch before we head to the grocery store. My treat." Alfred said as they descended the steps of 3rd Street Library, three fresh new comics resting in the American's backpack.

"I don't need someone belittling me by paying for my food." Kiku said, turning up his nose.

"Well you're hungry aren't'cha? I've been hearing your stomach growl ever since we left the apartment." Alfred smirked. "Besides, you don't even have any cash on you, right?"

Kiku blinked and looked away. "Do with your money as you wish then..." he mumbled indignantly, defeated.

"'Atta boy!" Alfred put his hands on his hips triumphantly. "Besides, mom and dad leave me plenty of money every time they go out of town. They're always worrying I'll starve to death or something. But there's a BK just down the street from the a,partment."

"B...K?" Kiku inquired, confused.

"Burger King! Don't tell me you don't have those in Japan!"

"Well, we do, but we certainly don't call it 'BK,' and I certainly don't eat there."

"Aw, man! You don't know what you're missing!"

"I'm sure I'll get over it. Where were you planning on having lunch, anyway?"

Alfred pointed to the west with a flamboyant gesture and exclaimed "Mickey D's, baby!" His index finger was pointing at the iconic golden arches on the corner of the street.

"You've got to be kidding..."


	4. Chapter 4

Kiku stared down at a particularly virulent looking salad. The lettuce was wilted and the croutons were soggy, The green heap wreaked of an overly potent vinegar bile and seemed to have a slimy sheen.

"Seriously," came Alfred's muffled words. "Who comes to the king of fast food restaurants and orders a salad?" The American boy spoke between inhalations of hamburger and french fries. "You're really missin' out, y'know?"

"I doubt it," Kiku replied dryly. He dared to take a sip of the iced tea he had ordered, letting out a retching noise shortly after. "What is this swill?"

"You're the one who ordered it. I usually just go for coke, but I guess that woulnd't be fancy enough for you."

"Tch.." Kiku didn't say much else. He couldn't ignore the fact that his stomach was screaming at him for sustenance, and there was a plate of food in front of him, well, _technically_ it was food. After a deep sigh Kiku reached for the flimsy plastic...thing. "What is this silly thing?"

"Heh, that's a spork, dude," Alfred informed matter-of-factly with a small chuckle. "Oh man! You're overdue for some serious cultural enlightenment."

Kiku sent the boy a glare and stabbed the pathetic salad with his tenuous plastic utensil and took a bite. It seemed like every inch of him sneered at the vile substance. But he could take no more of the American's little jokes. With near complete disregard for proper dining manners, Kiku shoveled the salad down with as much speed as possible, allowing as little to sully his tongue as possible.

"Man, and people say I eat fast..." Alfred eyed the foreigner. "Still hungry?"

Kiku shook his head violently. "Absolutely not!" he retorted, now gulping down his iced tea.

"Whatever you say, this stuff is the bomb!"

Kiku sat silently with his arms crossed, waiting for Alfred to finish his two hamburgers, large fry, milk shake, and extra large Coke, which didn't seem to actually take all that long.

After discarding their waste and leaving their trays above the trash can in the restaurant, the boys headed toward the market near the apartment.

"I hope you're not expecting me to eat at places like that often," Kiku said as they walked, Alfred in front, Kiku purposely lagging slightly behind.

"Of course, I usually have lunch at places like that."

"Every day?" Kiku gawked.

"Sure, is'at weird?"

"It's repulsive!"

"Well it's not like I'm gonna cook for myself."

"Honestly..." Kiku pinched the bridge of his nose with frustration. "I will accept no such thing for a dietary plan. I'm frankly amazed you're as lean as you are. Now, let me see your grocery list."

"Wha...?" Alfred stared at Kiku in confusion.

"You're grocery list!" Kiku demanded, patience now evaporated at this point. "You _do_ have one, right?"

"No, I was just gonna get, like, some ice cream, and TV dinners and stuff."

"Absolutely hopeless..." Kiku enunciated every syllable. "That's it. There is no way I will accept living under the same roof as you with such a poor excuse for an eating habit. I will be doing the grocery shopping from now on, as well as cooking. There will be no more of this strict hamburger diet of yours. Besides, vegetables will do that meek brain of yours some good."

"Hey-" The loud ring of the automatic doors stopped Alfred from whatever he was going to say. All that arguing, Alfred hadn't realized that they had already arrived at the store.

The boys spent the next half hour or so walking around the store with a large metal shopping cart. For every item Kiku added to the cart, Alfred doubled the amount in complaints. "That stuff tastes like the inside of my grandma's mouth!" "That organic stuff'll give you cancer!" "That's not even the kind with bacon in it!" Needless to say the pair earned a good many stares from the surrounding shoppers, and even the clerk once they had reached the checkout line.

"Will that be...cash...or credit..?" the heavily make-upped cashier had asked, evidently finding the situation strange.

"That would be credit, miss," Kiku replied in a voice so graceful that it surprised Alfred. Kiku held out his hand coolly in front of the bewildered blonde boy. "Won't it, Alfred?" Kiku said sharply to the obviously confused boy.

"Oh, er, right," he stuttered, fishing out the shiny blue card. Kiku plucked it from Alfred's fingers, handing it to the woman.

"My, that certainly is a lovely fragrance," Kiku said lightly to the clerk, handing her the card. "Marc Jacobs, I take it?"

"Ah, oh, yes it is," the heavy eye shadow glittered as the woman blinked, bemused.

"A lovely choice, if I do say so myself," Kiku winked, taking the card back.

"Why thank you," the woman smiled. She reached beneath the counter and retrieved two foil-wrapped squares. "Why don't you take these? Someone paid for them earlier but forgot to take them. Such charming young lad's deserve a little reward for their good manners, don't you agree?" The woman smiled, handing Kiku the two candy bars.

"How kind of you, ma'am," Kiku said with a tiny bow of the head, taking the chocolate. "I appreciate your selfless gesture. Now then," he turned to Alfred. "We ought to get home and put these in the refrigerator."

"R-right," Alfred replied, a bit flustered.

Kiku led the way out of the store, and Alfred waddled along with his heavy plastic bags.

"Hold up, Kiku," he called. "What was that all about? I've never seen you act so... nice."

"That woman was the assistant manager of the store," Kiku responded, not looking back at the blonde boy.

"How did you know that?"

"It was on her name tag, _baka_."

"So...? What does that have to do with anything?" Alfred inquired, looking puzzled.

"Well that is your usual place of shopping, is it not?" Kiku explained matter-of-factly. "By wooing the people who run an establishment you frequently visit there is a much higher chance of receiving better service. For one, it works for one time occurrences, but by charming the employees on a regular basis they will get to know you and will go out of their way to please you."

"So you were faking...?"

"A burger-gulping airhead like you will do well to learn this, especially if I'm going to be stuck under the same roof for God knows how long."

"That's not nice, Kiku," Alfred frowned. "You're just acting nice to manipulate people. All you're doing is lying."

"It's not lying, it's diplomacy."

"It sounds fishy."

"Perhaps you'll learn when you're older."

"We're like, the same age!" Alfred retorted wildly.

"Chronological age and mental age are two entirely different things," Kiku replied calmly, hinting at an amused undertone.

"Y-you're unbelievable, y'know that?"

The rest of the walk home was full of colorful back-and-forthing between the two boys, Kiku's suave remarks, and Alfred's zany reactions.

It was astonishing how very different the two youths were from each other. The American fearless and foolish, never allowing his quirkiness to get the better of him, the Japanese introverted and spoiled, too damaged to even consider allowing someone into his tiny, self-absorbed world. However, even more astonishing than that fundamental difference, was something even stronger, a quality that was identical between the two. Some would call it fate, some would call it destiny, but in truth, that unfathomable quality was nameless and intangible.

Kiku spent the next week or so quite consistently, and so did Alfred. The angsty Japanese boy stayed sitting on his bed for hours at a time on his laptop, and the other would stay on the couch in the living room playing various games on his PS2. Kiku preferred as few dealings with the American as possible, and Alfred was none the wiser. Kiku would only leave for necessary reasons, such as bathing, cooking, even cleaning.

Back at home he had his own maid, but he had learned a thing or two about keeping up a place of living in home economics class. Most of his classes were far different that what you would expect for a twelve year old boy. Back home Kiku was taught subjects like global economy and business management, everything he would need to be properly groomed by his parents to take over the family business one day. He didn't find such teachings particularly interesting, but he easily understood them.

It was a miserable Tuesday afternoon, it seemed even the clouds could not withstand the intensifying heat of the looming summer. Kiku checked his watch. Half past five and time to start preparing dinner. He snapped the cover of his laptop shut and set it on the nightstand to his left before hopping off the bed. As he entered the kitchen, Kiku heard the expected sound of button-tapping and the poor quality voice acting of some video game.

"Haven't you anything better to do?" Kiku asked wearily, opening a cupboard.

"Eh, not really," Alfred replied, not looking away from the television screen.

"You don't even have any summer homework?" Kiku inquired with a thick layer of boredom in his voice. "Your brain will rot out of your head before the semester begins in autumn."

"Mmm," Alfred thought for a moment. "Well I do have a summer project, but I'll probably get to it later this summer. What about you? What do you do in there all day on that laptop?"

A sharp clicking sounded as Kiku lit a flame on the stove. "Stocks, usually," he replied simply. "Various research into what's going on with the major businesses in Japan, and here as well. Things like that."

"The hell?" Alfred replied with a raised brow. "What kind of a kid are you? Stocks? Economy?" A hiss came from the kitchen as meat was thrown into a pan.

"Well considering the bulk of my education lies in business I might as well use that knowledge to my advantage. It is certainly more productive that playing silly little games all day."

"They're not silly!" Alfred retorted. "At least I know how to have fun."

"Having fun is irrelevant when you have actual responsibility." The harsh sound of metal against metal rang out as Kiku stirred around the contents of his skillet.

"Man, I'd go crazy if all I did was boring stuff like stocks all day."

"Well that's not all I spend my time doing." Kiku's tone grew more indignant as the conversation progressed. "I do a lot of reading as well, and writing research articles."

"Man!" Alfred dropped his controller on the coffee table in front of him and threw his hands in the air. "What are you, like, forty? You never play games or watch TV or anything!"

"Well technically I watch television on my computer. I spend about sixty percent of my time watching the news," Kiku said, his voice growing smaller as he pulled out two bowls from the cupboard.

"There's nothing interesting on the news, it's totally boring. Who would bother caring about something so lame?" Alfred yawned.

A harsh clattering of porcelain made Alfred jump. He looked toward the kitchen to see Kiku's hands clasped rigidly around the bowls from the cupboard. His gaze was cast downwards, his face obscured by sleek, jet black bangs.

"I watch the news..." the boy said in an almost inaudible voice, "...because when I wake up every day, the first thing on my mind is whether or not my country, my family, have been wiped off the face of the earth by nuclear explosion!" Kiku stormed off and out of sight, a sharp slam of a door as a clear end to the conversation.

Alfred stared in the direction of Kiku's leave, blank for a few moments. He let out a large sigh. "Alfred you idiot..." He sat down on the barstool at the counter, his glasses pushing up to his forehead as he rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. He decided to give Kiku a little while to cool off before he'd go in to apologize. He looked across to the other side of the kitchen where Kiku had been cooking. Two empty bowls sat next to the hot skillet of food. There was still a small mess left behind. Kiku would have normally cleaned it up after eating, but not this time.

Alfred let out another sigh as he hopped off the stool, walking slowly into the kitchen. He began to lazily wipe off the counter with the sponge from the sink. Even though Kiku was a spoiled rich kid, he was still a much better housekeeper than he. Kiku was a lot of things better than him. He was smart, responsible, mature... He really was amazing, even if he was a spoiled brat. Alfred found himself lightly smiling to himself as he cleaned. After returning the spices that Kiku had used to their proper places in the rack, Alfred ladled the now lukewarm food into each bowl until they were evenly portioned. He carried one in each hand and walked to their shared bedroom, and knocked on the door after shifting the bowls to free a hand.

"What is it?" came the cold reply from the other side.

Alfred turned the handle, careful to not drop the bowls and entered. Kiku was sitting on the bed, his computer resting on his lap. "I, well, I just wanted to apologize," Alfred said nervously, unsure of what exactly to say or expect. "I...didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"Tch," Kiku scoffed. "You think I'm angry because of feelings?" The boy had a sharp look in his eye.

"Wha... You're, you're not-?"

"I'm angry because you're a tactless moron." Kiku said flatly.

"...?" Alfred was speechless and confused.

"Honestly, you really are an idiot..." Kiku glanced up from his laptop.

"W-well, I'll admit I don't get the best grades..." he gave an awkward, embarrassed little smile, attempting to scratch his temple, realizing he had two bowls in his hands. "Oh! He-here, I brought you some food," he said, handing one of the bowls to Kiku. The boy took it, then held out his hand expectantly. Alfred looked down at the waiting hand with confusion.

"I take it you didn't think to bring along any eating utensils..." Kiku said with unsurprised exasperation.

"Oh, ah, r-right! Eheh..." Alfred stuttered, scratching the back of his neck guiltily.

Kiku couldn't suppress a small smirk. "You really are a moron."

Alfred let out a spell of light laughter, and Kiku couldn't help but chuckle along with him.

_~x~_

_Kesesese... I liked how this chapter ended =^-^= If you guys have any requests, for like, possible pairings and whatnot, feel free to let me know! ^^b And I'm loving the reviews! Love it love it love it! _

_Oh, and I hope there isn't any confusion when Kiku talks about his country and family getting wiped off the face of the earth by nuclear explosion. I only referred to it briefly in the first chapter, the reason that Kiku was sent to America, because of the tragedies going on in his homeland, based on what has actually been going on in Japan lately, what with the tsunami, earthquake, and nuclear reactors. _

_So with that, I hope you enjoyed and will write a review telling me what you thought!^^_

_See you next chapter! ;D_


	5. Chapter 5

Kiku spent the sweltering summer days the same way he had been spending them since he arrived in America: secluded and indifferent, locked in his shared bedroom on his laptop, avoiding contact with anyone and everyone. Sure, he had shared a few friendly moments with that American boy here and their, but he assured himself that didn't mean he actually wanted to be friends with such a happy-go-lucky nitwit. Kiku was content to overseeing his stocks while listening to NPR, his ears pricking up whenever his homeland was mentioned. As things grew worse in Japan, so did Kiku's demeanor. He hadn't heard anything about Aoten, the company his parents owned, so he assumed that they were alright and he would have heard something in the news. Kiku left the room periodically to cook dinner and do the occasional cleaning, but other than that he spent hours on end in the bedroom as if he were doing overtime at a desk job. He didn't find it very practical though, sitting on the bed all day with the hardware in his lap, the heat from the machine huffing against his legs, adding to the summer's heat. So he decided to do the practical thing and confront Alfred about it.

Kiku headed towards the living room where he knew he would find the blonde playing video games. He cleared his throat lightly to get Alfred's attention, who paused whatever zombie combat game he was playing and turned around with an inquisitive look.

"I would like to get a desk for the bedroom," Kiku said flatly. "For my work."

Alfred stared up from the couch he had been sitting on. "'Kay...?"

"Is there a problem?" Kiku narrowed his eyes at the tepid response.

"Wha-? No," Alfred replied, wiping his food-stained fingers on his sweatpants as he stood up. Mom and Dad are coming home next week, so you can ask them about it then."

"I didn't mean I wanted someone to purchase it for me," Kiku turned up his nose as if insulted. "I have my own money, I don't need hand-outs from-"

"Chill, dude, I didn't mean it like-"

"What I _meant_ was I wish to buy a desk, however I do not know the way around this city and will need directions."

"Oh, no worries, we can do it tomorrow and I'll come with you and show you the route."

"Directions will suffice-"

"Besides, we need more groceries."

"Fine," Kiku gave up with an exasperated sigh.

They left around ten the next morning after a mediocre breakfast of bacon and eggs that Alfred had insisted on making.

"Hey, how come you didn't just order one online?" the boy asked as they walked down a cracked, ruddy sidewalk. "A desk I mean. 'Cause, like, knowing you, I thought you would have preferred not having to walk around the city."

"Because, Alfred, I don't have an American credit card," Kiku replied. "Which reminds me, we should stop by the closest bank, I would like to make an account so I don't have to leave so much cash lying around unprotected."

"Is it so much that you need an account for it?"

"A little over four-hundred thousand yen."

"Fuh-_wah_?" Alfred gasped. "Holy shit! You've just been walking around with that much in your pocket?"

"Relax," Kiku sighed, annoyed, "it's only about five thousand US dollars."

"Buh-! You-! Wha-?" Alfred flailed his arms around in nonsensical gestures. "How does a twelve-year-old just walk around with five grand in his pocket?"

"Why don't you yell that a little louder, Alfred? I was hoping I could mark off getting mugged on my to-do list today," Kiku said with ice cold sarcasm.

"S-sorry, but _geez_!" Alfred shoved his hands in his pockets, his shoulders hunched up around his neck. "Do they even give bank accounts to kids?"

"'Kid' is a relative term."

"Huh?"

Kiku gave another sigh. "Never mind, let's just hurry up. I want to get back to the apartment before lunch."

"No way!" Alfred interjected. "We're gonna be out for a while, we might as well eat out too."

Kiku put his thumb and index finger to his chin with a 'hmm.' "I suppose it wouldn't be a problem. But I'm going to choose the establishment today."

"That's fair."

Kiku had insisted that they stop by the bank first, so they entered a heavily air conditioned building where they stood in line in silence. In front of them was a blond boy in a green shirt standing next to his mother. He looked to be around Alfred's and Kiku's age, but when Alfred gave him a smile he quickly turned away, crossing his arms irritably. When they got to the front they were met by a young female bank teller with tightly tied brown hair. She didn't seem to take Kiku seriously at first, but after a few intellectual words and fluttering comments she was more than willing to help him. After depositing his money and taking out two-hundred US dollars they exited the frigid bank and returned to the sweltering sunlight.

"So what store did you have in mind to buy your desk?"

"Do you have an Ikea? Or maybe a Furgison and Rudeaux?"

"I've never even heard of that last one," Alfred replied. "Oh, but the Liberty Mall isn't too far, it's just a bus ride away."

"I don't really like malls... Too many people."

"Well the only other furniture store I can think of is like three bus rides away."

"Fine, we'll go to the mall," Kiku said, defeated.

"Okay, cool, we can catch the bus at the corner."

Kiku hadn't grown completely used to riding buses around the city, but he wasn't as uncomfortable on them as he had been at first. He still didn't like being exposed to all the strange people that rode the bus as well, but somehow having Alfred around made it less nerve-wracking.

The bus they rode took them right into the parking lot of the mall, to an area of benches where several other buses stopped through as well. They headed towards the large white and green entrance into an echoing, bustling atrium. They first stopped to look at the map so Kiku could choose the store he wanted to look at. "This one looks decent," Kiku pointed at a shop on the second floor.

"Cool, let's go."

Alfred led the way to the elevator, which had glass walls that let them look out at the bustling mall below as they rose higher and higher. Kiku began leading the way as they exited the elevator, glancing to the side at various kiosks they passed until he glanced over and realized Alfred wasn't at his side. Kiku stopped and turned to see Alfred a few feet back, near a kiosk crowded with trinkets.

"You go ahead," he said, "Furniture shopping isn't my thing. I'll be in the video game store right over there."

Kiku nodded and turned back in the direction of the furniture store. He wanted to find something nice, but practical, something that would fit nicely on his half of the room without taking up all its space. Kiku saw the neon sign for the shop reading "R&R Furnishings" and went in. It wasn't a huge store, but it seemed to have a lot of merchandise. He went down the aisle that was marked "Lamps, Storage, & Desks." He glanced at the lamps as he walked past them to see the desks. After a few minutes of comparing his options, he was stuck between a solid oak one, and a cedar one.

"If you're trying to choose... I think the oak one is better," came a lax voice from Kiku's left. He turned his head inquisitively to see a boy around his age, with wavy brown hair and green eyes. What was strange was that the boy had a small cat perched on his shoulder. Kiku stared, confused.

"Oak is better... because it doesn't scratch as easily and will last longer," the boy told him.

"Uh..." Kiku murmured. "Thanks, ano... why do you have a cat on your shoulder?"

"It's easier than carrying him," the mysterious boy answered,

"That's, uh, not what I-"

"Do you like cats...? They're my favorite."

"Why, yes, I do..."

"This is Artemis... she's my favorite," the boy gestured at the greyish-brown cat.

Kiku wondered if this was normal in America, for people to just walk around in public with house pets on their shoulders. He would have pondered further, but as he stared at the cat, his cheeks began to tint. "Would it... would it be okay if I petted her?" he asked awkwardly.

"Of course... Artemis is real friendly," the boy said with his lazy, soothing voice.

"So... are you shopping for furniture as well?"

"I'm here to buy a new lamp for mother, she said that the one she has is too old and antiquated."

"I see..." Kiku mused as he pet the small cat. "Well, um, thank you for the advice. About the desk I mean."

"Sure... anytime," the boy replied, reaching for a medium sized lamp whose base was in the shape of an ionic Greek column, complete with the swirls at the top. "Well, I need to get home... Nice meeting you."

"Er... Yeah, you too," Kiku murmured as the boy turned and walked down the aisle and around the corner, out of sight. Kiku turned back to the stained oak desk and memorized the serial number before walking to the front. He told the clerk the serial number and asked to have it delivered to the apartment with next day shipping. He paid in cash and thanked the clerk before leaving to find Alfred.

Alfred was playing one of the demo games in the shop when Kiku arrived. "Oh, hey, you get your desk?" Alfred asked when he saw him. "Let me just pay for this game and we can get lunch." Kiku didn't see what game Alfred bought, but he didn't really care. He told him that the desk would be delivered to the apartment tomorrow and then asked if it was normal for people to walk around with cats on their shoulders in this country.

"What? You saw someone with a cat on their shoulder?" Alfred asked incredulously. "Was it, like, some kind of promotional thing?"

"No, it was just a boy, around our age, buying a lamp for his mother."

"Weird..." Alfred mused. "Oh, hey! Let's go in there!" Alfred stopped and pointed at an antique shop on the other side of the row of stores. Kiku liked antiques himself, and nodded as they cut across the path to the shop. As they opened the door, a tiny bell rang out alerting the shop owner that they had entered. A wrinkled old man nodded at them with a smile from behind the counter as they entered. The store was packed full of unique objects, furniture, weapons, art, and decor, from floor to ceiling. Alfred headed straight to the counter where all the weapons were, and Kiku went to look at the art. After a few moments of browsing, he heard Alfred cry out "Hey Kiku, check this out! These swords here are from Japan!"

Kiku glanced over his shoulder with an unenthusiastic "Fascinating..."

"Whoa, it says these staffs were used for magic!" Alfred chirped. Kiku only scoffed.

"They were used for divining the future as well," said the aged shopkeeper from behind the counter.

"That's so awesome!" Alfred grinned.

The old man gave a small chuckle. "Would you like me to divine the futures of you and your friend there? Free of charge of course."

"You'd really do that?" Alfred said excitedly. "Kiku, c'mere!"

"Divination is best left to fiction writers," he replied, unenthusiastically.

"Aw, just come on, what can it hurt?"

Kiku sneered, but walked over to the counter anyway, hoping it would shut the boy up.

"Your right hand, if you don't mind, young man," the shop owner smiled warmly at Alfred. The man stared at the boy's palm for a few moments, tracing the creases with a finger. "You have a strong kindness and warmth, my boy. It will melt the ice of the heart that is most dear to you, but it may cost you to lose someone dear in the process." The old man smiled up at Alfred, and the boy blinked back, and looked at his hand.

"Go on, Kiku, your turn!" Alfred insisted. "

Kiku reluctantly presented his hand to the man, skepticism written all over his face.

"My..." the old man traced the creases of Kiku's hand. "You are experiencing great turmoil... But it is not over yet, you have great loss and tragedy in your future. You shut yourself away from others, but you may find that the only way to heal your heart is to allow it to be healed by another." The man stared into Kiku's deep brown eyes and looked almost sympathetic.

"What a load of garbage," Kiku told Alfred after leaving the shop as they made their way to the food court.

"What? You don't believe in fortune telling?" Alfred asked, as if disappointed to hear Kiku's opinion.

"Of course not. Honestly, Alfred, do you really think some decrepit shop owner can just divine your entire future? It is farfetched and unreal."

"Whatever. I think it could be possible."

"Tch... You're such a dreamer..."

Alfred sniffed. "Mmm... You know what I'm dreaming of? Food," he pointed at the food court, where he could smell a menagerie of hunger-inducing scents.

"That's just a bunch of carbs and grease. And since it is my turn to choose an eating establishment we will be steering clear of such places," Kiku turned his nose up at the row of eateries. "Now, let's take a look at the map and see if there is anything decent here."

Kiku ended up choosing a steakhouse on the main floor of the mall. They sat at a booth table in the dimly lit restaurant, where Kiku ordered a seafood dish, and Alfred ordered a steak and french fries.

"So, um, Kiku, when is your birthday anyway?" Alfred asked, wanting to break up the awkward silence while they waited for their food.

"My birthday?" Kiku raised a brow. "Why do you ask?"

"I just wanna know, that's all."

"It's February eleventh..."

"Oh, so it already passed." Kiku's answer was a mere nod of the head. "Well..." Alfred turned to dig in his backpack, pulling something small out. "I bought this earlier from the kiosk where we split up, 'cause I thought it might be something you'd like." Alfred stretched his hand out across the table to Kiku, who had no choice but to take it.

"What... is this for?" Kiku looked oddly at what was in his hand. It was a cell phone charm in the shape of an onigiri with a cute little smiling face on it.

"Mmm, well I guess it's kinda like a late welcome gift slash late birthday gift."

"It really wasn't necessary for you to do such a thing," Kiku said blankly. Upon seeing Alfred's growing frown he added wearily "Nevertheless I will accept it anyway."

Alfred spent the rest of their time at the restaurant trying to keep a conversation going, and Kiku spent the time half listening. Once they were done at the restaurant they left the mall and headed to the grocery store near the apartment. Alfred convinced Kiku to make stew for dinner and decided he wanted to try to make something too, and decided on cookies.

"Have you ever even used the oven before?" Kiku asked him while chopping vegetables back in the apartment.

"Of course I have!" Alfred responded. "Well, I mean, toaster ovens count, right?"

At that, Kiku sighed and continued chopping.

After everything was cooked and dinner was eaten, Alfred brought forth a tray of what looked like burnt dog biscuits. He urged Kiku to try one, so the boy hesitantly obliged. He took a bite and instantly began to gag, trying to pass it off as a cough. With watery eyes, Kiku gave him a wavering thumbs up. Alfred, overjoyed, offered to clean the kitchen for once. Kiku didn't see it as much of a gesture though, considering the obscene mess the American had made whilst 'cooking.'

Later that night after a hot shower, Kiku put on his pajamas and fell on top of his bed, one of his arms resting on top of his forehead. With his free hand he twiddled the cell phone charm Alfred had given him above his face, looking at it lazily. 'Why didn't I just tell him how terrible those cookies were?' he thought to himself. 'And why did I accept this silly little gift? It wasn't necessary.' He clenched the charm in his fist, as if he were about to throw it across the room, but after a moment, he merely loosened his grip and turned to set it on his nightstand before falling asleep.

~x~

Ehhhh! I'm so sorry it took so long to update this story! ;~; GE's are over and I'm back to the classes that actually matter, which suck up a lot of my creativity xD I promise I'll try to be more quick about updating the next chapter! As always, I hope you enjoyed, and I'm always looking forward to your feedback!

See you next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

The return of Alfred's parents came and went like a dry summer breeze. Kiku greeted them, they all shared a few short meals together, along with some small talk about Kiku's parents and their business, wishing for Kiku to enjoy his stay in America, and Kiku went along with it, playing the part of the honorable guest. Alfred's parents were, in a word, normal. And Kiku wasn't sad when they left for Toronto; they were painfully dull.

Kiku had been living in America for little more than a month, and life had begun to grow routine for him. Kiku wasn't as glued to the news as he was at first, though that's not to say he didn't listen to it every single day. He often had some sort of NPR or CNN streaming from his computer while he worked. Alfred spent the days same as ever, playing video games and eating junk food. The two would go out every week for groceries, and run the miscellaneous errand every now and then. It was already early July, and Kiku sat with an empty mood at the kitchen table as he and Alfred ate their dinner in silence.

"So, um..." Alfred spoke up as he noisily slurped his soup, "tomorrow is the fourth of July."

Kiku lazily glanced up from the magazine article he was reading next to his bowl with sarcastically raised brow. "And...?"

"And, well," Alfred looked for the words. "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to the fair tomorrow. They'll have food and fireworks and stuff." It also happened to be his birthday that day, but Alfred purposely left that part out. He wanted to see if Kiku would remember, or maybe surprise him or something.

Kiku nodded in the direction of the kitchen. "There's food right in there, and I'm sure you can see fireworks from the balcony. You can be sure that you'll hear the noisy things at any rate."

"But it's not the same!" Alfred insisted. "Come on, please! I promise you you'll have fun!"

"Tch," Kiku huffed. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"Kiku...!" the boy moaned childishly.

"Fine!" Kiku snapped. "If it will make you shut up then fine!"

"Yes!" Alfred jumped up from his seat, pumping his fists into the air as if he just scored a goal in football, bumping the table and spilling his soup in the process. "Shit!" he squeaked as he ran to the kitchen for paper towels.

After sending Alfred an annoyed look, Kiku brought his attention back to his magazine article, which now had soup slowly creeping onto the it. He gave a sigh of exasperation as he flicked the moisture off the tabloid and rolled it up into a tube shape, whacking Alfred atop the head. "Learn to be less of a spaz, would you?" he said lazily.

"My bad," Alfred grinned sheepishly as he sopped up the spill, chuckling lightly with a warm smile.

The boys left at around four the next day, walking whilst sharing very few words. The park was not far at all, and took only about twenty minutes to walk there. The place was full of grass, wooden benches, stone tables, and tons of stalls.. There was a menagerie of scents wafting through the air, hot dogs, funnel cake, ribs, a buffet to satisfy the American dream, and everywhere carefree voices rang out: "American franks, this way folks!" "Get the ring around the bottle and win a prize!" "The best lemonade in the state, come on up!" There were hundreds of people walking around in shorts and tank tops, children waving small flags of red, white, and blue, teens chasing each other with firecrackers, adult chatting each other up about trivial things. Kiku was used to this kind of hustle and bustle, this is how it was in the big cities of Japan, only people were better at keeping to themselves there. His thoughts were broken up by someone calling in the distance: "Hey, Al! Over here!"

"Coming guys!" Alfred shouted from a few feet in front of Kiku. "C'mon, let's go!" he said to Kiku with a grin.

"What? You didn't tell me you'd be meeting up with anyone," Kiku said with a light air if irritation, putting his hands on his hips, eying the American. Kiku was dressed in a white polo shirt and navy shorts with knee-high white socks and dark brown penny loafers, much resembling a schoolboy. Alfred, on the other hand, wore a red shirt with yellow shooting stars on the front and black baggy shorts.

"Oh, guess I forgot," the blonde replied, grabbing Kiku's wrist. "My bad."

"H-hey!" Kiku stuttered, but it was too late, Alfred had already pulled him over to a pair of boys who were waving with smiles.

"Honestly, it's about time," one of the boys said in a French accent. "Any longer and we would have gone along without your unpunctual backside."

"T-that's not true, Francis!" said the other boy in a small voice, turning to Alfred. "I would have waited for you, Al." The timid boy hugged his stuffed bear. He was the shorter of the two, and held a surprising resemblance to Alfred, he even had glasses and blue eyes, though his were darker, and dirty blonde hair as well. The other boy, the one with the French accent, wore a feminine white dress shirt that was open at the chest and wrists. He had long, bright, and bouncy blonde hair which seemed to be very well kept, and flawless skin. His eyes were also blue, and had an airy, nonchalant look in them.

"Hey guys, how are ya?" Alfred said fondly. "I haven't seen you two since school let out."

"Things have been, how shall I say, satisfying," said the boy with the well kept hair, as he leaned on the shorter boy's shoulder, who gave a small jump.

"Jeez, why do you always have to use words like that?" Alfred chuckled. "You sound like you're talking about dinner or something."

"You would say that, wouldn't you, my hamburger loving friend?" the boy replied with an amused brow raised.

"Ahah, yeah well-" Kiku interrupted whatever Alfred was going to say by clearing his throat. "Oh, right. Guys, this is Kiku Honda, he's the-"

"Ahh, yes, our little foreign friend," the boy replied, stooping and taking Kiku's hand, laying a light kiss on it. "How _do_ you do?"

"I _beg_ your pardon?" Kiku pulled his hand away, taken aback.

"Francis..." whined the shy boy with the stuffed bear. "Don't be so rude...!"

"Ah! Where are my manners!" the boy looked at Kiku and bowed. "My name is Francis Bonnefoy, I must say, it really is... a pleasure." The boy called Francis looked deeply into Kiku's eyes with the last two words.

"Honda Kiku," he replied with distaste, flicking a handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiping off the back of his hand where Francis had kissed it.

"A-and my name is Matthew Williams!" said the shy boy, stepping in front of Francis and lightly shoving him aside to avoid any possible conflict. "It's really nice to meet you, Alfred has mentioned you a few times." The boy gripped his bear with one hand and held out his other to shake.

Kiku promptly stuffed his hands in his pockets before muttering "Pleased to meet you..."

"Yup!" Alfred butted in. "These are my friends from school. Francis's family moved here from France like ten years ago. He can come on pretty strong sometimes, and Matty here is really shy, but he's really nice to everyone, even asses like Francis," Alfred snickered at the dirty look Francis gave him. "They're way different, but usually balance each other out." Francis gave an amused smirk and Matthew gave an innocent smile. "Well, come on then, let's go walk around and check out some booths!" Alfred walked ahead of the group and waved back for everyone to follow his lead. Kiku let out an annoyed puff of breath, but followed anyway.

Alfred was by far the loudest and most eccentric of the group, shouting with excitement and pointing out all the booths he wanted to go to. Francis held on to his nonchalant smirk, all the while making comments about the 'unfashionable passerby' and the occasional perverted joke. Matthew on the other hand hardly said a word, and quietly walked along with the group, squeezing his bear tightly. Kiku followed a few feet behind the group, scowling in silence.

Kiku went to go sit down at one of the stone tables in an area surrounded by food vendors while the rest of the group stopped by a nearby stall for a snack. He sat there, his elbow on the table, his chin in his hand, his mind wandering with the bustling sounds of the food court shrinking away. Kiku gazed with glassy eyes out at the trees beyond the food court, the leafless branches swaying slightly in the hot summer breeze.

"Here ya go!" The chipper voice pulled Kiku out of his trance as a caramel apple was shoved into his view. Kiku looked up at Alfred, who was holding the apple out to him, a slightly confused expression on his face. "Ya looked bored over here, all alone, so I got you somethin' to keep ya busy," the boy smiled.

"Oh, er, t-thank you..." Kiku replied, taking the apple from him by the wooden skewer. He took a small, hesitant bite of the treat. "...it's good."

"Of course it is!" Alfred took a disturbingly large bite of his own caramel apple and took a seat across from Kiku. "The guys want to go try some of the game booths after we're done here," he nodded toward Francis and Matthew who were chatting and eating over next to one of the stalls.

"Oh, I see."

"You should play some too, you could use some fun!"

"Those scams are a mere waste of money." Kiku replied wearily, waving the suggestion away.

"But they're fun! It's not a waste if you have fun with it!"

"Then you go ahead, I've no interest in such things."

Alfred gave a sigh. "One of these days, Kiku, I'm gonna teach you what it's like to have fun." He bit the rest of his apple, tossing the core into the trash can nest to the table as he licked the caramel off his fingers.

"I know how to have fun," Kiku pouted under his breath as he took another mouse-sized bite of his apple.

After Francis and Matthew had finished their snacks, the four set off down the rows of booths. They had played several different games, but the only person who had won anything so far was Matthew, who had won a small stuffed koala backpack. Alfred was talking to Francis about some of the popular summer movies that were in theaters when he suddenly stopped at a nearby stall. "Dude..." he breathed. "I _have_ to win that." He pointed at a large model of Captain America displayed on a shelf of a ball tossing stand.

"You mean that silly doll?" Francis scoffed.

"It's not a doll! It's a super awesome super hero!" Alfred retorted, starry-eyed. "And I have to have it!" He ran over to the stall and asked the clerk about it.

"Oh, that?" the stall supervisor replied to Alfred. "You have to get five basketballs through the hoop in a row to score that little gem."

"Sweet!" Alfred slammed a twenty dollar bill on the counter. "Ten balls please!"

The stall clerk chuckled as he brought forth a large bucket of basketballs for Alfred. He picked up one of the balls, squeezing it between his two hands, mumbling under his breath "Please... please... _please_...!" He glared at the net as if it was his enemy, thrusting the ball at it and-

"It missed?" Alfred gawked. "But that was a perfect shot!"

"Sorry kid, looks like you've gotta try honing your skills with the rest of those balls," the clerk chuckled.

Alfred grabbed another basketball and threw it. Another miss. It wasn't long before he'd gone through all ten balls with not a single one going through the net. Alfred fell to his knees dramatically. "There's no way...At least on of those should have gone through, I'm not _that_ bad at basketball..." Alfred was pulled out of his stupor by someone behind him, clearing his throat. It was Kiku.

"Excuse me, sir," he said, "but I think it would be in your best interest to give my friend the prize he earned." Alfred glanced up at his friend. Kiku had his hands on his hips and a cool smile on his face.

"What 'er you talking about, kid? He lost the game, fair and square."

"Is that so? Fair and square?" Kiku replied in a keen voice. "Because it looks to me like you enjoy cheating kids to make a few extra bucks." The boy took a step closer, placing a hand on the counter, staring into the clerks eyes.

"Come off it," the clerk glared. "Your little friend just doesn't have the skill to-"

"Thirty inches," Kiku interrupted sternly.

"Huh?"

"Thirty inches," he repeated. "That is the standard circumference of a basketball, and these look to be legitimate. The rims of your nets, however, appear to have an approximate twenty-eight inch circumference. To back that up, each time Alfred threw a perfect shot, the ball bounced to the left, out of the center of the rim, meaning the rim was skewed several degrees off from being perpendicular to the backboard. The rim was offset on purpose, making sure that if someone had made a perfect shot, like Alfred had, the ball would bounce out of the rim, assuring that it would not get caught in it, which would automatically reveal that the rim was too small for the ball."

"Watch it, kid, you-" the clerk began, only to be cut off again.

"Now," Kiku continued authoritatively, "if you don't want us to go around telling potential customers of your heist, I suggest you give my friend the prize he earned, and we will leave without a word. If your refuse," Kiku stared menacingly at the clerk, "I will make sure that every person in the vicinity knows about this little incident."

"I...! That's...!" the clerk stuttered, utterly speechless. "Fine! Just take it and get out of my booth!"

"Gladly," Kiku smirked, taking the Captain America figure off the shelf and handing it to Alfred. "Come along, We've classier places to be." With that, Kiku turned on his heal and walked away from the stall.

Alfred stood motionless for a moment, then quickly caught up to Kiku, Francis and Matthew following suit.

"Holy crap, Kiku, that was freaking amazing!" Alfred exploded after catching up. "You totally owned that guy!"

"It wasn't difficult," Kiku replied calmly. "He was practically begging for it."

"That really was great, Kiku," Matthew cheered shyly.

"Swindling a swindler..." Francis added. "I like it."

Kiku smirked, putting his hands in his pockets. "It was nothing. Really."

After that, Alfred was more talkative than usual as they walked around some of the vendors, and Francis and Matthew even seemed more peppy. They talked to Kiku more as well, now full of admiration for the foreigner. They began asking Kiku questions about his homeland and what it was like, but the more they asked, the quieter Kiku became. Around nine o'clock the boys headed for the large hill of the park, where many friends and family gathered together to wait for the fireworks show. The three boys chattered amongst each other, but Kiku was silent, a scowl growing on his face as he watched the people around him. What the hell was he doing? It was like he had actually been enjoying himself today. _Today_. The day that marked the birth of this nation that he was supposed to hate. It had barely been more than a month and it was like he was beginning to conform with the place. How wretched. How could he allow himself to be so easily swayed into accepting this fate? Had he really become that weak? No! He would not allow this! How could he? Kiku glared out at all the stupid, naïve park-goers. Loud, obnoxious, stupid. He was disgusted with himself for allowing himself to settle in, as if this was his home. He watched a pair of young children running around, giggling, carefree. He felt a sickening jolt through his core. One of the children wore a white shirt with a red dot, with red letters that read _'Pray for Japan,_' the slogan used to raise funds and awareness for the recent tragedy in the country. Kiku stood up abruptly, staring at the grass beneath him, his eyes shielded by his bangs. "No..." he murmured quietly

"Huh?" Alfred looked up at him inquisitively. "What was that?"

"I need some air..." Kiku mumbled through gritted teeth.

"Wah...?"

Kiku bolted away from the group, dashing between picnic blankets and groups of people, up to the top of the hill where it was vacant of any people, filled with trees.

"K-Kiku?" Alfred stuttered from where he was sitting, staring after the boy.

"What's up with him?" Francis inquired airily.

"Bathroom...?" Matthew suggested.

"I'll be right back, guys, watch my stuff," Alfred said, and sprinted off without another word, Francis and Matthew staring after him. "Kiku! Wait!" he called, though he knew he would get no reply. He was a good thirty feet behind Kiku, his flip-flops flying off his feet as he ran. He ignored his runaway shoes, watching Kiku run into the area of trees at the top of the hill.

Kiku had his hands against a the trunk of a large tree, hunched over and panting, his face parallel with the ground, small beads of sweat forming. Through his heavy pants he heard footsteps come towards him, and panting from whoever they belonged to.

Alfred slowed down when he found Kiku hunched over, supporting himself against a tree, panting. Alfred was lightly panting himself. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Kiku recognized Alfred's voice, and shook his head violently, not saying a word.

"Kiku!" Alfred pushed on, desperately.

Kiku didn't say anything for a moment. "This...is wrong," he finally said through his panting.

"What...?" Alfred asked, confused. Alfred was standing there in his T-shirt and shorts, barefoot in the grass.

Kiku shook his head again, less violently this time, but didn't say anything. He was still panting, not as much from running now, but from what was boiling up inside.

"Kiku, you gotta talk to me man," Alfred pried. "What's up? Are you sick?"

Kiku gave a single nod.

"Well, we could go home if you want," Alfred said, as he slowly began to walk forward. "Or we could-"

"NO!" Kiku boomed, still looking at the ground, the first firework going off, loud and bright, illuminating the sky in red. "Don't come any closer!"

Alfred halted, his eyebrows knitted together. "I-" he began, looking for the words through all of his confusion. "Look, dude, you gotta tell me what's going through your head."

Kiku dug his perfectly manicured nails into the rough bark of the tree, gritting his teeth. "I am..." he said quietly, "absolutely disgusted..." Alfred stared, at a loss. "...I could just vomit..."

"Kiku..." Alfred took another step, a blue firework bursting in the sky.

"I said don't come any closer!" Kiku yelled, turning to face Alfred. "Are you fucking stupid?" Another red firework.

Alfred looked hurt, as if he had just been slapped in the face. "What's your problem?" Alfred yelled back. His tone wasn't angry, exactly, it was more desperate.

"_You're_ my problem!" Kiku bellowed, more bursts of red filling the sky.

If Alfred looked hurt before, it was nothing compared to what he looked like now, as white streamers flew into the sky, the whistling sound echoing in the distance. "Kiku, look, whatever I did I'm sorry. Just please stop being so upset."

"Don't act so self-centered!" Kiku spat. "It's not just you! It's this country!" Boom. Another firework. "It's those people down their!" Boom. "It's your parents!" Boom. "And it's those friends of yours!" Crackle. "All of it is-!" Kiku's words were halted as Alfred ran forward, grabbing his wrists and pinning him back against the tree, a menagerie of shapes and colors bursting in the sky.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Alfred asked quietly. "What have I ever done? What have _they_ ever done? What has _anyone_ here ever done to you to deserve that?" Alfred's voice began to escalate with every word. "_Huh_?" he gave Kiku's wrists a hard shake, red, white, and blue fireworks bursting in harmony.

"How dare you?" Kiku retorted. "Let go of me-!"

"No!" Alfred boomed over him. "You shut up and listen! All we've ever done is show you kindness! You should be grateful to my family for opening our doors to you! You think we're obligated to let you live in our home? You think I'm obligated to be nice to you and try to make you feel welcome? You think-"

"I never wanted you to try and make me feel welcome!" Kiku interjected as another large group of fireworks went off. "I would prefer it if you never said two words to me! But instead you act all nice to me and make me feel like this is home! You try to butter me up and make me feel like its okay to let go of my real home! It's bullshit! This isn't home! It never will be!" Boom. Boom. Boom. Here came the finale. Cheers and applause could be heard in the distance toward the bottom of the hill.

"I don't give a shit if you accept it as your home or not!" Alfred yelled, staring angrily into Kiku's hateful eyes, gripping his wrists tightly, their faces less than an inch apart. "The fact is that this is where you live now! So you better suck it up and deal with it, because no one wants to deal with your spoiled little tantrums! If you want to turn everyone against you and make your life here more miserable then that's on you." Alfred's words grew quieter now, but much, much colder. "Do me a favor and leave me out of it." With that, he threw Kiku to the ground. Alfred loomed over the boy, the anger nearly tangible. "If you don't change...you're going to live a very lonely life, Kiku Honda," he said quietly, then turned on his heal and walked away. The fireworks had ended with a bang, and all that was left now was the hazy smoke in the sky, illuminated by the bright park below.

Kiku stayed on the ground for a few minutes, silent and motionless. After a while he slowly sat up, leaning back against the tree, wiping the dirt off his chin with his forearm. He pulled himself up from where he was sitting, and slowly walked down the hill, making sure to make a large detour around where he and the group had been sitting earlier. "I hate you Alfred Jones," he muttered as he waked away.

_~x~_

_Happy birthday, Alfred! Haha... maybe not so happy._

_I bet I know what all of you are thinking: Where the hell is Arthur? Don't worry my beloved reader, he will show up, I promise! You're probably also wondering why Kiku is such a OOC bitch. That will work itself out in the future as well ^_^b_

_Also, I was thinking that maybe I should have a weekly schedule for this story. That way I'd have more of a reason to pump out chapters instead of procrastinate like I always do, and you guys will know when to expect them =D I'm thinking Thursdays, which works well because today is Thursday!_

_One more thing! I recently made a poll asking which of my stories you lovely readers like better. In case you didn't know, I have another Hetalia fanfic called Memories in the Mirror, which is GerIta ~3_

_Alrighty then, I know that was a long A/N, so I'll be wrapping up now^^ As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I love when you guys give me reviews!_

_See you next chapter! ;P_


	7. Chapter 7

Kiku woke up on the morning of July fifth with a headache and a fierce scowl. He groggily pulled himself out of bed, sinking his bare feet into the fluff of the carpet below. He sat silent for a moment, then with a huff stood up and left the room to answer to his growling stomach. The lids of his eyes were heavy as he walked into the kitchen and his lips were slack with indifference, that is until he saw Alfred out of the corner of his eye. The American boy was sitting on a bar stool at the counter, hunched over a bowl of cereal, and even though Kiku was in his direct line of vision, Alfred seemed to be deliberately pretending not to see him. Kiku sneered but continued preparing his bowl of cereal, his nose in the air as if trying very hard to ignore his roommate. Alfred, who was watching Kiku intently now that he had turned away, scowled, taking a loud, harsh swig of his orange juice, setting the cup back down on the counter with more force than necessary. After filling his bowl with cereal and pouring his milk, Kiku returned the jug to the fridge, slamming the door shut harshly, making sure not to look at Alfred as he passed by to sit at the table. Alfred lifted his bowl to his mouth and forcefully gulped down the remaining contents of his breakfast. The chair whined as he stood abruptly, dumping his bowl in the sink and then walking briskly to the shared bedroom and wrenching the door behind him. Kiku gritted his teeth, slamming his fist down on the surface of the table, causing droplets of milk to spill over the rim of his bowl, the events of the night before replaying in his head, only fueling the fire inside him.

The night before at the fair, after Alfred had stormed off, Kiku left the park, fuming, and took a cab home. Alfred, however, had stayed behind.

"Look, there he is!" Matthew had said. "Alfred's back!"

"What on earth were you doing that took you so long?" Francis asked as Alfred took a seat next to the two boys. "You missed the show." Alfred stayed silent.

"Did...something happen?" Matthew asked quietly, watching the look on his friends face. "You look-"

"Kiku happened," Alfred said in what was almost a growl. Francis and Matthew looked at him confusedly. "I mean, seriously! What was I thinking, trying to be that bratty little prick's friend?"

"Alfred..." Matthew murmured.

"I take it the two of you had a quarrel ?" Francis asked knowingly. The foggy haze in the sky from the fireworks was slowly dissipating, and most of the people on the hill had left.

"That would be putting it lightly," Alfred sneered. "He's such a spoiled brat! I mean, my family let's him stay with us, and he acts like we're terrible people for it! Who does that?" Alfred was huffing from his boiling insides, ready to burst.

"Sounds like the two of you need to work out your sexual tension," Francis gibed.

"Shut up, I'm not kidding around!" Alfred glared.

Matthew frowned at the two of them. "I dunno, maybe Kiku just needs some space to work out his problems..." he suggested.

"Tch, he can have it. I don't ever want to see his face again!" Francis and Matthew looked at each other, and then at Alfred. "In fact, I'll just stop talking to him altogether. From now on, Kiku Honda is my enemy."

"Don't you think that's a bit melodramatic?" Francis raised a brow.

"No," Alfred replied darkly, crossing his arms. "He had this coming to him. He can go fuck himself."

Alfred was in a fowl mood throughout the rest of the time he spent at the park. He even began to bum out Matthew and Francis, who suggested he go home and sleep off all the rage. Alfred decided to oblige and left the park and walked home.

Back in the apartment the next day, after slamming the door, Alfred threw himself on his bed with a thud. Just seeing Kiku's face made his blood boil. Alfred let out a sigh. He usually spent his time in the living room playing video games, but now that Kiku was out there, and he had been so careful to snub him, he couldn't go back out there. The boy let out another, more irate sigh, turning and burying his face in his bed. What was he supposed to do now? He didn't know how Kiku could spend all day cooped up in this bedroom, there was nothing to do, and even if there was he wasn't in the mood for it. So instead Alfred kept his face buried, an eye peaking out, starring at the blue fabric of his blanket. The last thing he remembered was counting the stitches in the thick blanket before falling asleep.

Kiku sat at the dining table, starring into his cereal as it grew ever soggier. He had only taken a few small bites before realizing he had no appetite. After sitting blankly for a few minutes, Kiku stood, bowl in hand, and walked into the small kitchen to pour out the contents of his bowl into the sink. As he washed his bowl he thought about how Alfred had stormed off to the bedroom, deciding he would wait for the boy to come out before he went in to work. Kiku decided to clean the kitchen while he waited, but when Alfred hadn't emerged by the time the kitchen was spotless, Kiku went on to clean the living room, and then the bathroom. It was already past one in the afternoon and Alfred had shown no signs of picking up his usual routine. After making lunch and cleaning the entire kitchen for a second time, Kiku accepted the fact that he was running out of things to occupy him, and decided to take a walk. After slipping on his penny loafers Kiku took the apartment key from a hook on the wall near the door and left, neglecting to bring along his phone or wallet. They were both on his nightstand in the bedroom, and he considered that area a no-access zone for the time being.

Leaving the tall apartment building in his wake, Kiku walked on with a vacant expression, time seeming to creep by as he went. He had been walking for about half an hour in the general direction of where he and Alfred did their grocery shopping. He only knew the routes that he and the American boy had traveled on up until then, and preferred to stay on the beaten path. He came upon a hilly, grassy area a short ways outside the shopping mall he had been to before, and thought he'd sit down for a few minutes. As Kiku walked closer to the tranquil area, he saw that there was a person already there, lying in the grass, and was going to keep walking to avoid any confrontation, but upon a second glance he realized that the person was very familiar. It was a boy around his age, lying on top of a brown coat, with his arms spread out loosely. Kiku inched slowly toward him, and was now standing at the base of the small hill, neck slightly craned. The boy appeared to be asleep, his chest rising and falling with his light breathing. Kiku was about two feet away when he remembered where he had seen the familiar face. It was the boy from the furniture shop he had met when buying his desk.

The sleeping boy opened his eyes, blinking down at Kiku. He sat up abruptly, stretching his arms out with a large yawn. Kiku blinked, beginning to feel rather awkward, but before he could decide whether to say something or turn and walk away, the boy said quietly "how is your new desk?"

"I-" Kiku began to say without thinking. "It's, er, quite nice. And...your mother's lamp?"

"She said it was perfect," the boy said. "I never got your name, by the way."

"Oh, ah, it's Kiku. Honda Kiku." He averted his eyes awkwardly.

"I'm Heracles Karpusi,"

"That's an interesting-"

"-name? Yes, my family is originally from Greece."

"I see," Kiku blinked. He had never realized just how diverse this city was. He glanced away, feeling even more awkward now that he couldn't think of anything else to say. "So...I see you didn't bring your cat with you this time..." he finally said.

"Oh no, she's here," Heracles corrected, the grayish-brown cat popped it's head out through the neck of the boy's shirt.

Kiku blinked, cocking his head to the side in surprise. "Do you take here everywhere you go?" he asked.

"Pretty much," Heracles shrugged. "She's my best friend. I don't have many human friends." Kiku gazed at the odd boy with understanding. "You're the same as me...aren't you?" Heracles said after a moment. After Kiku gave him a questioning look he continued. "You don't have very many friends, or people you can connect with." Heracles looked up at the bright sky, a light breeze ruffling his wavy brown locks. "There's an invisible wall that separates you from most people."

"How do you..." Kiku began quietly, but trailed off, unable to find the words, or even the question he wanted answered. Heracles held out a hand and motioned for Kiku's, who hesitated, unsure of what the boy wanted.

"I won't bite," Heracles pressed. After another moment Kiku slowly extended his hand to the boy. Heracles gently took Kiku's hand in his, and with his free hand pulled a black marker from his pocket. He brought the marker to his lips and uncapped it with his teeth, bringing the felt tip to Kiku's palm, scrawling something on it before releasing it. Kiku brought his hand up to his face to look at what Heracles had wrote. It was a seven digit number. "It's my phone number. In case you ever want to talk."

Kiku stared on at his palm for a few moments, and when he lowered it he saw Heracles a few feet off, walking away. "Wait...!" he called, taking a few quick steps forward. Heracles turned back, his soft eyes brushing over Kiku inquisitively.

"What is it...?"

"I...!" Kiku began, slightly flustered, only to realize he didn't know the answer to Heracles's question. Why did he stop him? "I...don't know..." he felt a hotness wash over his face. Well that was stupid, he thought to himself in embarrassment.

"Don't worry," Heracles replied with a look of understanding, walking backwards now, still looking at Kiku, one hand in his pocket. "If you want to contact me again just give me a call," he raised his own hands, pointing at his palm. Kiku looked down at his own palm again, where the phone number was written.

"R-right..." Kiku frowned as he watched Heracles wave goodbye and turn around again, walking in the direction of the mall.

Back in the apartment Alfred twitched lightly, clearing away his doze. His eyes slowly opened, though they were telling him to go back to sleep. He had fallen asleep facing Kiku's side of the room, and now saw that the boy wasn't in his bed or at his desk. The clock on the nightstand glared at him through bright red numbers. It was already after three in the afternoon. After a few minutes of lying still Alfred finally pushed himself up, letting out a large yawn, stretching his arms above his head. He lazily pulled himself out of bed, tiptoeing towards the door. He reached out a hand and turned the doorknob as quietly as he could, slowly pulling it open, just enough for him to peak out and see down the hall. His stomach gave a harsh growl. Though he couldn't see much form this spot, he heard no signs of Kiku, and though it safe to leave the room. He crept down the hall, and when he got to the end, he peaked around the corner into the living room. Kiku wasn't there, and the spare key was missing. At this point Alfred figured Kiku wasn't home, and headed straight for the kitchen. He had gotten into the habit of Kiku leaving a portion of lunch in the fridge for Alfred, but today there was nothing. Alfred scowled and turned to the pantry, deciding to eat whatever took the least amount of effort to prepare.

After a few minutes, Alfred sat down at the counter with a bowl of cereal, beginning to eat much slower than usual. He wondered where Kiku had gone off to, it was unlike the boy to willingly leave the apartment. It was already half past three, which meant Kiku could have been gone anywhere between five minutes or five hours. Where the hell did he go anyway? Maybe he had gotten lost? Or what if he wandered into dangerous territory? Grim possibilities began to fill Alfred's head, and before he realized it he had started to worry. He gradually stopped paying attention to his cereal, which was now an unappetizing soggy mess in his bowl. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, and after a moment of hesitation dialed Kiku's number. No ring tone, his phone wasn't even on. The bowl of cereal was forgotten as Alfred went to the door to put on his shoes, ready to go out and search for the boy, He unlocked the door and opened it, his heart violently shooting into his throat. Kiku was standing at the other side of the door.

"What are you gawking at?" he sneered at Alfred.

"You stupid asshole!" Alfred shot loudly.

"Excuse-?" Kiku began, only to be cut off.

"Shut up, you-" Alfred began to grow hot in the face, "-you asshole!" With that Alfred slammed the door, running off to his bedroom again, leaving Kiku to stand there on the other side of the door.

"Tch, all I did was ask what you were gawking at, stupid Alfred..." Kiku grumbled, sticking the apartment key in the knob and twisting it.

~x~

_My darling readers~! I'm SO sorry it's taken so long to update! ;~;_

_I've been getting busier and busier by the day! And honestly this chapter was a bit difficult for me to write because not much went on in it, and for that I apologize. _

_But even though I've become so much more busy, I promise I'll try to be more consistent about putting out chapters orz_

_Oh, and one more thing, I've been getting a few comments on Kiku's out of character personality. I know it isn't like him, but trust me there is a reason for it! _

_As always, I love all my wonderful readers and hope to see some feedback and hope that you continue reading!_

_See you next chapter~! 3_


	8. Chapter 8

Kiku sat on the high bar stool, leaning over the granite counter top, his laptop on his left, a bowl of ramen on his right. It was already August, and the heat was as unforgiving as Alfred's and Kiku's grudge against each other. Not much had changed between them since their fight at the Fourth of July celebration. At least they were talking now, even if it was only for minimal and necessary communication, and the occasional snide remark.

"Yo," came a painfully familiar voice from in front of Kiku. He peered over the brim of his laptop at Alfred with cold eyes, who was on the other side of the counter, hunched over a melting bowl of rocky road ice cream, swirling it around with a spoon.

"What is it. I'm busy," Kiku glared.

Alfred pursed his lips at the hostile tone. "Well I _thought_ I'd let you know that Francis and Matthew are coming to spend the night on Friday. Ya know. My _friends_."

"I'm aware of who those two are, you oaf," Kiku sneered indignantly, glancing back at the screen of his laptop.

"Yeah, well I was just making sure, since you don't know what friends are." Alfred swirled his ice cream around more harshly.

Kiku looked back at Alfred, his eyes narrowed. "I'm perfectly aware of what friends are, I'm not an idiot like you."

"Tch." Alfred dropped the spoon and it clattered as it toppled into the bowl, his hand slapping down on the counter. "Could have fooled me, seeing how you don't even have any!"

"You really are as dumb as you look."

"Oh really! Care to prove me wrong?"

"Again? I already do that multiple times a day, you drooling idiot!"

"I meant about having friends, dumb ass!"

"Fine, I'll have someone over on Friday too, so you can just shove it!"

"Stray dogs don't count as friends, Kiku!"

"He's not a dog, Alfred! He'll be here Friday, and you'll eat those words!"

"Oh we'll just see about that!"

"I guess we will!"

"Loner!"

"Oaf!"

"_God!_" Alfred smacked the counter again as he spun on his heal and stomped away, considerably more irritably than before.

"At least someone acknowledges my deity!" Kiku shouted after him, proceeding to angrily gulp down his ramen and continue working on his laptop. He had been composing yet another email to his father. It seemed for every ten emails he sent home, he would only receive a short paragraph in return. Each time he was disappointed Kiku would remind himself how busy his parents must be. The way things were going in Japan people weren't focused on spending their money on luxurious hotels like the ones in the chain his parents headed. Most people who's homes were destroyed in the tsunami couldn't even afford run down motels. Kiku let out a sigh. Maybe it was a good thing he didn't really have any friends, it would have been hard to have had to say goodbye to them when he left, or even to have lost any in the natural disasters. Perhaps that was why he never really tried to make any in the first place, or really even get close to anyone for that matter. Or maybe he was making excuses, and didn't want to face that he was a self-centered brat. Kiku stared down into his now empty bowl. All that was left was a few stray droplets clinging to the bottom.

He slowly closed the lid of his laptop and hopped off his stool. He headed into the bedroom, ignoring Alfred, who was sitting on his own blue blanketed bet with his cell phone. Alfred snuck a glance at the other as Kiku began rummaging his night stand drawer for something. And as quickly as he had come in, Kiku left the room with his cell phone, and something else crumpled in his hand.

Kiku plopped down on the couch, crossing his legs. He unfurled the yellowish sticky note which had ten digits written on it. He thought back to the day he ran into Heracles for the second time when he had given him his phone number. He remembered standing in the bathroom later that day, ready to wash his hands and seeing the inky scribbles on his right palm, a little smudged. He looked at it for a few seconds, unsure if he should ignore it and wash it away. But he didn't, for whatever reason, and instead scrawled the number down before washing the numbers from his palm. Kiku sighed, now relieved that he hadn't rid himself of the means of contact. He punched the number into his flip phone and saved it under Heracles's name. He stared at the information for a few seconds. It was only after he pressed it that he realize he hit the 'call' button and quickly put the phone to his ear. His heart began to beat a little faster as he heard ringing and realized he didn't think of what to say, but before he could come up with something-

"Hi Kiku," came a relaxed voice.

Kiku's heart skipped several beats. He was rather surprised.

"I...uh, that is-" Kiku gulped. "This is Heracles, is it not?" He could feel his face getting hot. That was awkward...

A small chuckle could be heard from the other. "The one and only."

"O-oh, um...How did you know it was me?" Kiku asked tentatively.

"Well not very many people have my number. Plus I just sort of figured you'd be calling soon. But wouldn't it have been funny if it really wasn't you calling?" Heracles let out another warm chuckle.

"Wouldn't you have been embarrassed...?" Kiku asked.

"Mm... Nah, not really." Though Kiku couldn't see him, it seemed like Heracles was wearing a soft smile.

"Oh, I would have been..." Kiku responded slowly.

"So what's up? Any specific reason you called?"

"A-ah, oh, right," Kiku stuttered. "Well, I...I hope this isn't to strange, but I was wondering if you might want to...come spend the night at the apartment I live in. You see, my-"

"Oh, sure, I'd love to," Heracles replied, sounding kind and laid back as ever.

"I see," Kiku blinked, surprised. "T-thank you very much for complying."

Heracles chuckled again. "No need to be so formal, we're friends after all."

Kiku was silent for a moment. "Friends...right."

"So what time on Friday? And where is your apartment at?"

"Um, I'd say about five, and I can text you the address if you'd like."

"Sounds good, I'll talk to you Friday."

"Right, Friday. I'll see you then, Heracles."

"Can't wait. Bye Kiku."

"Goodbye..."

Kiku sat for a while on the couch after hanging up. They were friends? Without obligation or intent to benefit anything? Kiku closed his eyes. He wasn't entirely thrilled to admit to himself that Heracles was the first real friend he ever had. He refused to count Alfred as his first. Alfred would never be his friend...

Friday had finally rolled around, and it seemed, for once, that Kiku was not in an entirely bad mood, though he wouldn't go as far to call it excitement. He woke up like he would any other day, at eight o'clock on the dot to the sound of his alarm clock and Alfred's snoring. Kiku had been living there for months and was still not used to the snoring, and was convinced he never would be.

After getting up, Kiku headed to the bathroom to wash up, only today his routine was interrupted by a knock on the door. Kiku wiped his hands on the bath towel hanging next to him and went to the front door. When he opened it he was met with a perky Francis and an unkempt and baggy eyed Matthew. "Er... Aren't you two here a bit early...?"

"Oh technicalities!" Francis chirped. "I wanted to make the most of this sleep over so I decided to come a little early."

"More like six hours early..." Matthew whined quietly.

"Plus I wanted to make breakfast for everyone, and it would be blasphemous to wait until the afternoon to come over and cook breakfast."

"You could have just cooked lunch in the afternoon..." Matthew whimpered tiredly.

"Now then," Francis continued, paying no attention to Matthew as he let himself in. "Time for some delicious French omelettes!"

After the two had come in, Francis headed straight to the kitchen, seeming to know his way around well enough. Matthew was slumped over the counter, sitting on a bar stool, his cheek squished against the cold granite. "So then, where is Alfred?" Francis asked from the kitchen.

"Snoring up a storm in his room of course," Kiku replied. "I'll go wake him up for you." He grabbed a silicon spatula from its rack and disappeared without another word.

"Alfred, wake up," he said shortly, back in the bedroom. Alfred made no signs of waking up, not to Kiku's surprise. "Hey!" he said more loudly, whacking the sleeping boy atop his blond head with the spatula, "I said get up." Alfred stirred, letting out a confused grumble, sloppily rubbing his face with the back of his hand. "Well aren't you a sleeping beauty..." Kiku murmured sarcastically, crossing his arms, spatula in hand.

"God! Kiku, what time is it!" he grumbled irritably, checking his phone.

"It's the time when normal people are in a state of consciousness. Now get your ass up, your friends are here."

"Jesus it's like nine in the freaking morning!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, let me just go let them know that you're a lazy good-for-nothing who's to busy sleeping to do anything productive."

"Jeez, shut up, I'm up already, okay? Jeez!" Alfred snapped, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"I suggest you bathe before you spoil Francis's eggs with that musk," Kiku shot bluntly as he left, closing the door behind him with a snap. Alfred threw his pillow in Kiku's direction, but it only managed to hit the door as it was closing.

"Dick..." Alfred murmured, pulling himself out of bed crankily.

"He'll be along shortly," Kiku said, once back in the living room.

"Honestly, that boy is such a lazy thing sometimes," Francis said, flipping around the contents of a sizzling skillet.

"Sometimes,?" Kiku raised an incredulous brow at the other.

"Oh come on, this early you can't really blame him. Francis showed up at my house over an hour earlier. And I was having a great dream about a hockey game too..."

"Alfred may seem like a bump on a log," Francis said with a grin, "but he'll always come through when it comes down to it."

"The day I see him do something productive of his own accord will be the day Hell freezes over," Kiku said, crossing his arms nonchalantly. He heard the running of water from far off and knew Alfred had started his shower. He took the opportunity to retreat to the bedroom. He didn't want to stay in the kitchen with the other two boys. Even if they were acting graciously, he felt like an outsider, an unwanted presence. Francis and Matthew were friends of Alfred, which meant they weren't freinds of Kiku's, and he assumed the others would have the same notion.

"I guess it's just you and me," Francis said, back in the kitchen, sliding a tasty looking omelette onto a plate in front of Matthew. "Maybe he doesn't like eggs?"

"I don't think it's the food that he doesn't like..." Matthew frowned, pulling the plate towards him.

"Hmm...It's hard to tell with those stoic types," Francis mused.

"I don't know if that's the right term, more like..." Matthew took a bite of his breakfast, "bitter..."

"An omelette has many layers, my friend. You can't judge it by only taking one bite."

"Damn, why are you guys here so early?" Alfred said a few minutes later, one hand in his pocket, the other combing through his damp, golden locks.

"Well, look who's finally decided to join us," Francis winked. "I made breakfast, now come join us."

"Aw, sweet!" Alfred rushed to the counter. "Your cooking is, like, _the_ best, Francis!"

Francis gave a small chuckle. "I know..."

"Humble as ever," Matthew gave a shy little grin. "So how have you been Al? We haven't been seeing much of you this summer."

"Ugh," Alfred sighed, shoving a large wad of egg in his mouth. "Pretty lame. It'd be way better if _he_ wasn't here." Alfred nodded in the direction of his bedroom where Kiku was.

"Man, you guys really don't like each other..." Matthew murmured nervously.

"Yes, and the sky is blue," Francis snickered, then turned to Alfred. "But seriously, you two waste too much energy on hating each other, especially when you could be using that energy doing _other_ things," Francis gave another wink.

"W-what do you mean by that?" Matthew cringed.

"Whatever you want it to mean," Francis said slyly.

"Enough already!" Alfred protested. "Look, nothing is ever gonna change between me and him, so just forget it!"

"Fine, fine, no need to get so defensive," Francis replied.

"Sorry..."

"No worries, now stop talking and enjoy my godly culinary masterpiece."

The three boys spent the next few hours in the living room playing video games, watching TV, and reminiscing about old times. Kiku did what he normally did, which was keep to himself as much as he could. It felt a little weird, actually inviting someone over to his residence. So this is what normal young boys did? What were they supposed to do? What if Heracles didn't enjoy himself? What if he didn't even want to come in the first place and only agreed to be polite? Kiku began to grow more and more nervous as time passed, and just when he thought maybe Heracles wouldn't even show up, his cell phone buzzed loudly, pulling Kiku from his thoughts. It was a text message from Heracles. 'Hey Kiku, I got directions to ur place, so I'll be there around 5. c u then.' Kiku flipped the phone shut and looked at the digital clock on the front. It was already 4:30. He quickly hopped out of his swivel chair, closing the lid of his laptop. He felt a bit frazzled, like he had to get things ready, but he didn't know what he ought to do. What were they going to do at this sleep over? Sleep? Where were they going to sleep? There were going to be five boys in this medium sized apartment, where was everyone going to sleep?And what about dinner? What did Heracles like? What did Heracles even like to do? Before he had even realized it it was already 4:50 and Heracles had sent him another text. 'I'm near ur street, its 1776, right?' Kiku sent a response that said 'Yes, I'll come meet you at the entrance in a moment.'

Kiku quickly left the room, heading to the front door, passing Alfred, Francis, and Matthew. "Going somewhere?" Francis asked curiously as Kiku bent down to slip on his shoes.

"Going to meet my friend, be right back," he said, not bothering to lock the door as he left.

"My bet is that it's an imaginary friend. Any takers?" Alfred gibed after Kiku left.

Kiku walked with moderate pace to the elevators and waited for one to open and slipped in. The lift seemed to be going painfully slow today as he waited for it to decent to the lobby on the first floor. Kiku glanced at his reflection in the shiny brass door. He was wearing a plaid vest over a white collared shirt with khaki shorts. His expression looked solemn and his eyes looked cold. He tried to flash a smile, but it felt strange, forced. He began to slip away in his thought, but was pulled back when he noticed the elevator doors begin to slowly open. He was about to move forward to step out into the lobby, but there was someone standing on the other side of the doors. It was Heracles, standing there with that unforgettably calm expression, a large duffel bag over his shoulder.

"O-oh, it's you," Kiku said, a bit surprised to run into Heracles so quickly. He stepped back to let the other inside the elevator.

"And it's you as well," Heracles gave Kiku a soft smile. "How are you?"

"I'm...good," Kiku lied. "And you?"

"I'm well. Artemis says hello." Artemis was the cat that was with Heracles when he and Kiku first met, and when they ran in to each other in July.

"Oh, did you not bring her?" Kiku asked as the elevator came to a stop, the doors parting to let them out.

"I didn't want to impose, so I left her at home."

"I see. You should bring her next time, I really do enjoy cats."

"Alright, then I will."

Kiku was a bit surprised how smoothly things were going, it felt unexpectedly natural being around Heracles. Maybe it was his laid back and passive nature that put Kiku at ease, unlike Alfred's overbearing energy. "This is it, the apartment I live in," Kiku stopped in front of his door and opened it, gesturing for Heracles to follow. The others were still in the living room, chatting and giggling. Kiku cleared his throat to gain their attention. "This is Heracles Karpusi," he said, then looked defiantly into Alfred's eyes as he said "the _friend_ I was telling you about."

"Nice to meet you," Heracles gave a small wave.

"Sup."

"Bonjour."

"Hello there."

"You can set your things down in my room, this way," Kiku said, heading down the short hallway, showing him to the bedroom he shared.

Heracles looked around as he entered, heading straight to Kiku's side of the room as if he could easily tell who's side was who's. "You share this room with one of those boys?" he asked, taking a seat in Kiku's swivel chair near the oak desk that he suggested he get so long ago.

"Yes, with the one with the bad manners, Alfred." Kiku replied. "No relation," he added bitterly.

"I thought so," Heracles replied with a small nod. "I'm guessing you moved here recently, right?"

"Yes..." Kiku said quietly, sitting down on the edge of his bed facing Heracles, wanting to change the subject. "So, um...what kind of foods do you like? I wasn't sure what to make for dinner and wanted to ask you first."

"Oh, that was nice of you," Heracles smiled. "But honestly I'll eat anything. I can help you with dinner if you'd like, I cook for Mother all the time, she's taught me a lot about spices and herbs."

"Well then, we can make something simple that will feed a lot of people. Do you like pasta?"

"That sounds good."

"Alright. We'll have to run to the market to get some ingredients, you can stay here if you want to."

"Oh, no, I'll come with you and help carry the groceries."

Several minutes later they were heading out the door just as quickly as they had come in, Kiku only muttering "Going to get groceries," to Alfred before closing the door behind him.

"Al, didn't you tell them you wanted to order pizza?" Matthew asked Alfred, who was focused on beating Francis at the video game they were playing.

"Huh? Who?" Alfred asked absentmindedly, not looking away from the screen.

"Kiku said he was getting groceries, I don't think he knows you're ordering food."

"Oh, right, yeah, no I didn't tell him."

"Well they just left..."

"Oh, whatever, let him go with his new little friend, at least he'll be away from me for a while." Alfred coldly. "Actually..." he continued, turning off the game console. "This could be a great opportunity..."

"I'm sorry I didn't think to ask you earlier about what food you liked, I could have gone out to buy food earlier and you wouldn't have had to walk to the store and back," Kiku said, walking alongside Heracles as they scouted the aisles of the grocery store.

"Really, it's no problem," Heracles replied. "I actually walk a lot, so this was nothing. I run errands for Mother all the time."

"So does that mean you walked to my apartment as well?" Kiku asked, reaching for a container of garlic powder on an out of reach shelf. Heracles, who was several inches taller, grabbed it with ease, handing it to Kiku with an 'Mm-hmm.' "Well I guess it's a good thing you came after all. Alright, that looks like everything, let's head to the checkout."

By the time they left the store they had been out for about half an hour, and the sun was beginning to sink lower in the sky. Kiku carried a plastic bag with a particularly large amount of pasta, while Heracles carried a bag with tomatoes and a few other small ingredients.

"So, is there anything in particular you would like to do once dinner is over?" Kiku asked, as he was still unable to think of anything.

"Mmm, maybe take a nap."

"A nap this late in the day?"

"I like naps," Heracles said with a spacey smile.

"Do you have a lot of tiring hobbies or something?"

"Mm, not really, I just like sleeping, it's almost like a hobby in itself."

"Uh...interesting..." Kiku played along. "What else do you do in your spare time?"

"Besides sleep?"

"Yes, besides sleep," Kiku felt like smacking his own forehead.

"Well I like to read a lot, mostly about Ancient Greece. It's because I want to become an archaeologist when I'm older, you see. So, what is it that you want to do?"

"Well...I don't really have anything I _want_ to do, but I'm going to be the head of my parents' business when they retire. That's why I have to study now and practice for later on."

"But is that something you even want to do?"

"Hmm, it's not really a matter of want. It doesn't really matter what I want, it's my obligation as the son of the Honda family."

"Where's the freedom in that...? Being told what you're going to be when you grow up, without even being given the chance to decide for yourself what you want."

"Freedom...?" Kiku wondered aloud as they came up to the lobby doors of the apartment building. "I guess I never really thought about it."

"Maybe you should think about the things you enjoy doing, and then apply those traits to a type of career."

"I don't know why I would, it's not something I need to worry about when I already know what I'm going to do."

"It's not a matter of need," Heracles smiled as they stepped inside the same brassy elevator they had met on earlier. "It's a matter of want."

"Hmm..." Kiku went quiet while he contemplated the idea. He was silent the rest of the way back to the room, wandering around in his own thought. Finally they stopped again in front of the apartment door as Kiku fished for his keys. His stomach made gave a large growl as he unlocked the door, ready to eat. But when he opened the door, neither Francis, Matthew, or even Alfred were there in the living room. "Maybe they stepped out?" he suggested aloud as he stepped inside, heading to the kitchen, Heracles following, but-

Kiku's heart violently skipped several beats as his brain registered the sickening sight before him, the bag of pasta slipping from his grip without him even realizing it. He could feel the blood drain from his face as his throat clenched and dried. What was before him was Alfred in a crippled heap on the kitchen floor, drenched in a deep red substance.

_~x~_

_Hehe, oh boy, what's gonna happen next?_

_I hope this chapter wasn't too boring with all the Kiku/Heracles dialogue. I hope to be updating soon, what with the cliffhanger and all._

_I really hope you enjoyed and will continue reading 3 And as always I look forward to your comments!_

_See you next chapter! ;D_


	9. Update! New chapters coming soon!

Hey guys, sorry if you thought this was a new chapter. I just wanted to update with some good news, and also apologize for not updating in almost a YEAR. I've just been so busy with school and everything, focusing on other projects, etc. But my lust for creative writing has been nipping at me like frostbite. So hopefully sometime in the next month, I will have a new chapter out and will continue to update regularly! I hope for the best, see you soon!


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